Visit Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery (Tucson) for a show and sale of new paintings by Stephen C. Datz. Opening reception with the artist is Friday, January 17, 5 to 7 p.m. Show ends February 7, 2020.

Artist Comments: This piece [“Convergence”] is a view of Monument Canyon, and Independence Rock at its center, in Colorado National Monument, as seen from the Grand Valley along the Colorado River. The time is evening, late October, when the cottonwoods and scrub along the river begin their autumnal transformation and the whole area comes alive with color.

In the sky, the new crescent moon, dark side faintly illuminated by earthshine, is accompanied by Saturn on her left, and Jupiter on her right. Pluto’s in there too, just to the left of Saturn, but it is not visible to the naked eye (devilishly hard to paint, but I think I managed it). It’s one of the most exceptionally peaceful and pleasant fall evenings I’ve ever experienced.

The title has several meanings — literal, astronomical, and above all metaphorical. 2019 proved to be a year of convergences for me and my family, not all of which were pleasant or welcome. Nights like this, with their fleeting bursts of color and arrangements of seemingly ageless (at least to us) earthly and celestial wonders, serve as a reminder to treasure the days we have, for we know not their number, and those, now absent, with whom we have been fortunate to share them.

Roan Plateau in western Colorado
Artist Comments: It can be truly said that some of my most favorite things in all the world are junipers, sagebrush, and desert rocks with a generous helping of snow. I never tire of painting these simple things in their seemingly infinite and often surprising variety. This view is the southwest escarpment of the Roan Plateau in western Colorado, just a few miles east of DeBeque. Like the Bookcliffs closer to Grand Junction, the “erosional morphology” of the Roan Plateau makes for a fascinating subject, especially on days such as this when the snow highlights the vertical faces of the cliffs, producing gorgeous blue shadows and bouncing light into and around all the little canyons and crevices there.

It’s kind of amazing to think that this landscape, which owes its shape and character to water’s work, sees so little of it each year.

Artist Comments: “Shadows in Light, Shadows in Time” has been waiting its turn for five years. I originally saw this view on a November trip to Moab with my wife. The cold months are the only time one can visit Moab and expect anything approaching peace, quiet, and solitude.

We had driven up to Dead Horse Point and stopped on our way back down in the afternoon to admire this vista. The desert geology here is fascinating, and the two buttes, Merrimac and Monitor (for some strange reason they were named after Civil War–era naval vessels) are chunks of Entrada Sandstone. The substrate on which they stand is comprised of much lighter Navajo Sandstone.

The cloud shadows and the isolated remnants of Entrada, which are all that remain of what was once an even layer, sparked the thought that the buttes were “shadows in time,” as it were. And voila, a title is born.

“Canyons, Buttes, and Beyond” is on view at Medicine Man Gallery (Tucson, AZ) January 17 through February 7, 2020. Details: www.medicinemangallery.com.

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530 Burns Gallery recently announced “2020 Vision,” a solo exhibition by Linda Richichi opening January 24, 2020, featuring oil and pastel paintings.

From the Gallery:

Richichi’s newest body of work explores an openness to her muse, which she defines as an unseen inner force that moves her to paint in an evolutionary way. Until preparing for this exhibition, she thought her relationship with her muse was private and personal. She now reveals a look into the events that inspired this work.

Richichi often asks herself a question prior to painting: What would be good for me to see or know that I can’t see yet? An answer comes either in the painting itself or during the drawing of a preparatory sketch beforehand. In her painting, “The Connection,” the answer came in a moment of clarity when she painted a light-filled stripe that indicated a brighter space of existence.

Though her paintings appear to be physical, idyllic landscapes or skyscapes, Richichi has sought to capture the moment when an opening appears in the veil between the seen and unseen worlds, inspiring a fresh perspective. A moment like this, preserved in paint, reminds the viewer that revelation can come to anyone, although it’s fleeting and precious.

Richichi then wondered if she should add such a stripe to more of her paintings, including a few that she had already finished. Returning to her studio the next morning a bit earlier than usual, she was startled by what she saw. Several paintings had vertical, sunlit stripes, each in an appropriate place on the painting. Was her muse helping her to see the pieces anew by allowing strips of light from nearby windows to shine through the blinds, illuminating each painting with a perfect vertical line? Or was it just an amazing coincidence?

Regardless, Richichi’s talent has led her to national acclaim. Gallery owner Nikki Sedacca says, “Linda’s recent appointment to Signature Status in the Pastel Society of America makes representing her more exciting than ever. Her talent is limitless.”

The ethereal, profound, and transformative power of painting and more are explored in this exhibition. The new paintings add another layer of complexity to Linda Richichi, who is known for capturing color and energy when painting en plein air.

“2020 Vision” runs from January 24 through February 5, 2020, at 530 Burns Gallery in Sarasota, Florida. A meet the artist Opening Reception will be held on Friday, January 24, from 6 to 9 p.m. For more information about the pieces that will be featured in the show, or to learn more about the gallery and Linda Richichi, visit www.530burnsgallery.com.

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“Forever Yours” is an ongoing series of oil paintings by Geoffrey Gersten, on view at Bonner David Galleries (Scottsdale).

From the gallery:

In this show Geoffrey Gersten decided to embark on a nostalgic journey toward a past that, in the American culture, has been idealized through motion pictures and literature, as well as iconic photographs. He explains: “I had become so wrapped up in these moments that it was crushing to think that those particles of time, so meaningful when they happened, were now gone, and had become lost scraps in this bin of photos. I picked up a little 2 x 4 inch photograph. It was the picture of a girl, standing on her porch, smiling. She was wearing pants, and a 1950s bikini top, though these and all things were only peripheral to her expression. There she was, standing upright, but her smile made her seem as if she were poised rather forward, right into your mind, right into your psyche, so much so that I had to join in smiling myself. I flipped the picture over and saw across the back, scrawled in fading bluish ink, “Forever Yours, Charlotte.”

This was the moment when Gersten conceived the Forever Yours collection. “With this new idea, with Charlotte and all my collected vintage photos and old moments ready to be reborn in oil on canvas, I set forth on this endeavor of re-creation and self-regeneration.” Geoffrey Gersten found both contentment and meaning for this new purpose.
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“Forever Yours” is an ongoing series of oil paintings inspired by and based on unique, interesting, and meaningful photographs including Kodachromes, Ektachromes, and Polaroids from 1900 to 1969.

The show will be on display until February 17, 2020. More details at https://bonnerdavid.com/.

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