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July 23: Vanita Smithey

VANITA SMITHEY
NEW DRAWINGS

SANTA FE, NM. Many paths and opportunities present themselves along the course of a long painting career.  After a decade or more of working abstractly, Vanita Smithey is revisiting the act of pure drawing using a more contemporary approach.  “I have always been amazed at the changes in painting styles of such artists as Diebenkorn, Pollock and Rothko and how through the years their interests and directions evolved, telling me that one can work in various directions at different junctions of their careers,” says Smithey.

“By virtue of scale, minimal color and contemporary presentation, I am hoping to achieve the end result of
combining realism and abstraction in a pleasing manner.  Ultimately, I visualize larger scale works with minimal lines
 on a sensual surface. I am surveying and exploring all the possibilities of nature and its many facets…”

Born and raised in West Texas, Vanita attended Texas Tech University and studied at the Museum of Fine Arts, Glassell School in Houston.   She moved to Santa Fe, NM in 2005.

August 27: Daniel Phill

DANIEL PHILL             
Pollination

SANTA FE, NM. Although Daniel Phill identifies with many of the principles and techniques of Abstract Expressionism, he relishes the ambiguity between abstraction, figuration and the illusion of space in his paintings. “The excitement for me is referencing an object by using loose gestures and very little information,” he says. His juxtapositions of radiant colors against muted grounds thus animate not only the two-dimensional surface but also suggest light, atmosphere and depth—a combination that makes visible Hans Hofmann’s assertion that “shapes, colors, lines, calligraphic squiggles and use of space always echo the reality found in nature—its structure rather than appearance.”  He eschews the neat and formal, preferring a responsive approach. Rather than controlling the viewer’s movement through his intuitive gardens on canvas, he thrives on the unexpected and its potential for pushing and pulling the eye from colorful points of energy to reflective pauses and mysterious distances.

Phill has found endless ways to manipulate the plasticity of acrylic paints, inks and stains in every color under the sun. He begins with the canvas lying horizontal, jumping in “with the faith,” he says, that something will develop from his spontaneous applications of color and “happy accidents.”  Once the initial layers of color have stabilized, he places the canvas on a wall and starts the process of editing and reworking it to satisfy his personal aesthetics. The titles are appended after the fact, inspired by botanical names or adjectives, the sounds of which give him pleasure

“Unlike natural cycles of flower and fade, Daniel’s gardens are eternally cheerful and in full bloom,” says Karan Ruhlen.  “Collectors revel in the intermingling of abstraction and figuration that Daniel achieves,” Ruhlen explains. “His paintings represent the best of both worlds by alluding to atmosphere and representation while retaining the visceral surface tension of paint on a two-dimensional surface. More importantly, like nature’s endless variety, Daniel’s remarkable inventiveness is so infinite that no two paintings are ever alike.”

Born and raised in Washington State, Phill attended Washington State University, Pullman, and received his BFA in 1978 from San Francisco Art Institute. He received his MFA in 1983 from Stanford University and currently lives in San Francisco where he works in a World War II shipyard warehouse studio.

September 24: Sally Hepler

Sally Hepler
Joie de Vivre

SANTA FE, NM. There are two sides to any circle:  the inside and the outside.  In a similar way, there are two elusive forces at work when experiencing a Sally Hepler sculpure:  simplicity and complexity. The most common first reaction to the graceful flowing sculptures is an acknowledgement of the palpable skill and sheer tenacity required to pull it off—in fact, there are hundreds of hours of hand-fabrication that go into each piece.  Multiple templates from intricate models are enlarged and precisely cut from bronze or stainless steel; the separate elements are then shaped, welded, reshaped hydraulically, welded further, chased, patined, sealed, and mounted.  But it is the sublime experience of purity, flow and wonder of each piece that ultimately transcends the viewer to a threshold of effortless joy and Zen mindfulness.

As Hepler states, “The validity of a work of art is established by the originality of the creative concept and by the level of excellence achieved in its rendering.  This combination, however tedious or difficult to accomplish, has the ability to raise the consciousness of the viewer to a higher level.”

Born and raised in Springfield, Vermont, Sally Hepler has lived and worked in Santa Fe for over twenty years. Having attended the visual arts program at the College of Santa Fe where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, Hepler also studied under the legendary Allan Houser. 

tentative schedule