Wicked Wind, oil on canvas panel with carved wooden 3D pop outs framed with reclaimed industrial pulley, 56”
For Jim Vogel, painting is often a family affair. He is a storyteller, having inherited the storytelling gene from his grandfather and his mother. His studio, on a tributary to the Rio Grande, is in an area rich in history from Picuris Pueblo to the traditions of Spanish settlers who arrived in the 18th century. The stories are still alive today in the tranquil valley. His admiration for his neighbors and their histories is manifested in colorful, fictional narratives. He and his wife, Christen, are collectors of “things.” Christen conjures the “things” into frames, tableaux settings for Jim’s paintings.
The Poet and the Musician, oil on canvas panel in antique wall cabinet frame with hand carved quill and guitar (frame in collaboration with Christen Vogel), 19 x 16”
Their son, Sage, has also inherited the storytelling gene, and has collaborated with his father on a new series of stories, Fabulórico, which will be shown at Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, September 29 through October 14.
The gallery explains, “Fabulórico is a new word that Sage coined to describe when the line between folklore and fables blur. The loose sketch of the narrative: the protagonist, Eluid, is a self-styled anthropologist who travels the state looking for the most unbelievable stories and investigating to see if there is any basis in fact for any of them. His obsession for fabulóricostems from an early childhood trauma where his sister was taken from the family.”
Buffalo Wings, oil on canvas panel in antique arched window frame (frame collaboration with Christen Vogel), 26½ x 28”
Each of the paintings contributes to the story, but each can stand on its own.
In this series, Jim has pushed his experiments into three dimensions. In Wicked Wind,a child’s foot, an eagle’s wing and a page from the bible emerge from the painting as carved elements on the frame. The flying child already has the large hands that appear on his painting’s characters. Jim exaggerates in his paintings but he exaggerates from an energy that already exists. The ubiquitous big hands are symbolic of the energy behind them and the hard work they have done—or are about to do.
Off the Wagon, Again, oil on canvas panel with salvaged metal frame, 31 x 41”
The creative spirit of the earth Jim and Christen settled on to raise their family and to create their art was made clear to them the first time they set foot on it. When they were were scouting for a place to live, they arrived on the hill across from Barrancos Blancos in Dixon just as five hawks flew in and settled in the nearby trees. Since the German word vogel translates as bird it seemed like a good omen for the eventual family of five Vogels. —
Powered by Froala Editor
