The Pastel Society of New Mexico is celebrating a milestone this year with a much anticipated and highly acclaimed event. Collectors and art connoisseurs will want to take a look!
 
Celebrating 25 years of anything is something to note, especially when it involves an organization like the Pastel Society of New Mexico. This year, the organization mounts the 25th installment of its National Pastel Painting Exhibition with prizes totaling more than $10,000.
 

Iva Morris, “Rest Stop,” pastel, 26 x 36 in. (c) PSNM 2016

 
Juried by Gil Dellinger, Jen Evenhus, and Janis Krendick, this year’s exhibition will feature 143 paintings selected from nearly 300 total entries. The exhibition will showcase works by 84 artists representing 15 states, and one from Spain!
 

Marilyn Drake, “Flea Market Find,” pastel, 16 x 12 in. (c) PSNM 2016

 
Judge Casey Klahn will review the accepted works and award prizes to be announced during the Opening Reception and Award Presentation on Saturday, October 29 at the Hispanic Arts Center at EXPO New Mexico.
 
To learn more, visit The Pastel Society of New Mexico.
 
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.
 

The Denver Art Museum is host to a rhythmic and fun exhibition, featuring an eclectic range of outstanding works of art, for just one more week. On view through October 2, “Rhythm & Roots” is an innovative exhibition that explores the subject of dance in American art.

Including some of the biggest names in our country’s art history, such as George Caleb Bingham, William Merritt Chase, and Arthur F. Mathews, the exhibition is sure to be a joy for all ages and aesthetic leanings. Among the artworks are representations from nearly every major art movement since the mid-19th century. About 90 paintings compose the exhibition.

George Caleb Bingham, “The Jolly Flatboatmen,” 1846, oil on canvas, 46 x 56 in.
(c) National Gallery of Art, Washington 2016

The museum reports, “The exhibition portrays dances throughout America’s diverse community, from the sacred dances of indigenous North Americans, to Irish jigs, and Spanish flamencos. About 90 paintings, photographs, sculptures, and costumes relating to American dance from 1830 to 1960 will be on view.

“The exhibition examines how dance moved to the public stage, showing new American dances, dance in the club, and artists’ historic fascination with and depiction of performers. Paintings in the exhibition feature iconic American dancers such as Isadora Duncan, Katherine Dunham, Fred Astaire, and Josephine Baker, as well as Spanish dancer Carmencita Dauset Moreno, and Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova.

“Rhythm & Roots also demonstrates the interaction between visual artists, dancers, and choreographers. Works on view by artists such as Isamu Noguchi and Andy Warhol highlight collaborations with acclaimed dancers such as Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham.”

To learn more, visit the Denver Art Museum.

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Abend Gallery in Denver, Colorado, is the proud host of a large group exhibition that seeks to explore the cutting-edge genre of imaginative realism. Highlighting many of the genre’s best artists, “Inner Visions” was curated by Patrick and Jeannie Wilshire, Directors of IX Arts, and features works by more than 70 artists.

David Cheifetz, “Angel of Creation,” oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in. (c) Abend Gallery 2016

The gallery describes the wide potential of the genre, suggesting that it “combines classical painting technique with postmodern narrative subjects, focusing on the unreal, the unseen, and the impossible, offering visions of humanity’s mythic past, its unexplored future and, in some cases, the terrifying present.”

Luke Hillestad, “Full Hearts,” oil on canvas, 29 x 32 in. (c) Abend Gallery 2016

As exciting and stimulating as the theme is, perhaps the greatest feature of the exhibition is the artists included, who range from the burgeoning to the experienced and beyond. Among them are Luke Hillestad, Boris Vallejo, Michael C. Hayes, Scott Burdick, Rick Berry, Annie Stegg, Jody Fallon, and many more.

Via the gallery, “‘Imaginative realism satisfies a dual urge in the viewer,’ says co-curator Patrick Wilshire. ‘It meets the viewer’s desire for aesthetic quality and appreciation of technical skill, but also provides the opportunity to experience narrative, character and concept within that technically-skilled framework.’”

“Inner Visions” opens on October 8 and will be on view through November 11. To learn more, visit Abend Gallery.

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Although it has been traditionally considered to be a “lesser” genre, contemporary painters continue to explore the range, power, and depth of still life. These modern approaches to the genre form the core of this magnetic exhibition.
 
The Whistler House Museum of Art is proud to be hosting a lovely still life exhibition this fall in Lowell, Massachusetts. Featuring works by artists who are members of the Lowell Art Association — the oldest incorporated art association in the country — “Still Lifes” includes both traditional and contemporary approaches to the genre.
 
More than 50 paintings compose the show, with pictures by Dee Lessard, Todd Casey, Priti Lathia, Deirdre Grunwald, Lisa Movvuri, Mary Rose O’Connell, Helene Levasseur, Jennifer McCalmont, Lucinda Britton, Melody Phaneuf, Meredith Fife Day, Lynne Mehlman, and Mary Minifie.
 

Lisa Kovvuri, “Three for Tea,” oil, (c) Whistler House Museum of Art 2016

 
Via the museum’s president and executive director, Sara Bogosian, “It is so interesting and inspirational to see the varied interpretations of still lifes by the artists of the Lowell Art Association. We invite guests of all ages to experience this impressive and skillful collection of paintings.”
 
The museum adds, “From traditional golden hues reminiscent of the seventeenth-century Dutch masters to dynamic strokes and splashes of color, the works in Still Lifes demonstrate a variety of interpretations of the traditional genre. Unique compositions feature flowers, sculptures, pumpkins, and an array of subjects as the artists pay homage to still life paintings and explore the possibilities of representing objects in pigment.”
                      
“Still Lifes” opens on September 28 with a reception on October 8 from 2 P.M. to 4 P.M. The show will run through November 12, 2016. To learn more, visit the Whistler House Museum of Art.
 
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Renowned wildlife conservation artist Vickie McMillan is overjoyed to mount 35 original paintings at this Texas museum.
 
Lovers of wildlife and exquisite art will want to soon visit Port Arthur’s Art Museum of the Gulf Coast in Texas, featuring 35 original paintings by Vickie McMillan. Visitors have until January 14 to catch a glimpse.
 

Vickie McMillan, “Spotted!,” acrylic on board, 36 x 24 in. (c) Vickie McMillan 2016

McMillan’s aesthetic is particularly noteworthy. Often juxtaposing tightly rendered animals against more abstracted and expressive backgrounds, the paintings offer viewers a wide range of aesthetic interpretation. The museum writes, “Artists Vicki McMillan of the Woodlands (featured in 2014’s prestigious Birds in Art) and local artist and Lamar State College Port Arthur art professor Albert Faggard will share the stage in a celebration of fur, feathers, and scales with a special focus on environmental issues affecting the creatures we share our world with. As part of this exhibition, the Museum will host the 2nd Annual Children’s Art Competition — with a theme of (you guessed it!) wild animals. Vickie McMillan will be giving a gallery talk at 2:30 on October 8th to be followed by a reception for Museum Members and Special Guests.”
 
To learn more, visit the Art Museum of the Gulf Coast.
 
This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.