Beginning April 2, Manitou Galleries will present Modernists, a new group show featuring the work of Tracy Felix, Sushe Felix, David Jonason, William Haskell, Alvin Gill-Tapia and Nocona Burgess.
“The Tate Museum defines modernism as a global movement in society and culture that from the early decades of the 20th century sought a new alignment with the experience and values of modern industrial life,” the gallery notes. “Building on late-19th-century precedents, artists around the world used new imagery, materials and techniques to create artworks that they felt better reflected the realities and hopes of modern societies. The six artists in this exhibition continue the legacy of their predecessors.”
Alvin Gill-Tapia, Morning at the Museum, acrylic, gold and copper leaf on panel, 50 x 50”
Works in the show include Gill-Tapia’s shimmering Morning at the Museum, an acrylic work with gold and copper leaf. “I studied in New York City, so I was exposed to modernism in all the galleries and exhibitions. I also lived in Europe, so it was a huge influence on me, particularly in the simplification of form in the Southwest. We have these great organic, non-straight line buildings, so even our cities have a modernist aspect to their composition,” the artist says. “For this work, I look at this massive church in the Zuni Pueblo. “If you’ve been inside an adobe building, it is a huge presence around you—you become enveloped around it. I wanted to bring some of those qualities to this building.”
Tracy Felix, The Sandias, oil on panel, 30 x 40”
For Tracy Felix, one of the works she will be showing is The Sandias, a work showing her unique paint quality that gives the perception of both two and three dimensions. For her, modernism in the West is tied to art history. “The Southwest is a big place but I think the center of early modernism in the Southwest starts in Taos and Santa Fe early in the 20th century with a flood of artists from the East. Andrew Dasburg came to Taos in 1918 and many other artists followed. Emil Bisttram, Howard Cook, Barbara Latham, Ward Lockwood, Cady Wells, John Marin, Marsden Hartley and, of course, Georgia O’Keeffe,” Tracey says. “I have always been influenced by many artists that worked in the early modern period and I know many other artists working today that have the same interest. Modernism continues.”
William Haskell, Point of Origin, acrylic, 20 x 16”
Haskell will be showing his regionalist-skewing modernist work, including Point of Origin. “My paintings are influenced from the first 50 years of the 20th century. Artistic movements like cubism, modernism, surrealism and regionalism have had a profound impact on my painting style with about 30 different painters from the past influencing my work. Some of these artists include Georgia O’Keeffe, Maynard Dixon, W. Herbert Dunton and Thomas Hart Benton just to name a few,” he says. “My painting Point of Origin is part of an ongoing series that reflect on my experiences growing up and living in the Midwest. During that time we lived in rural Ohio, which has a beautiful, flowing landscape. I also experienced a number of tornados, which is truly an unforgettable event. I use many different symbols in my work to tell a story, and the tornado represents change in our lives. Change is something inevitable and can have powerful consequences and I feel that the tornado conveys this.”
The show runs through May 1 in Santa Fe. —
UPCOMING SHOW
Up to 18 works
April 2-May 1, 2021
Manitou Galleries
123 W. Palace Avenue Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 986-0440
www.manitougalleries.com
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