On the surface, very little is similar about Dennis Ziemienski and GL Richardson. They come from different generations, from opposite sides of the country and paint in different styles. And yet they are linked by their love of the West and its iconic imagery. The two artists will be showing their newest works starting July 26 at Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Dennis Ziemienski, Valley Floor (Monument Valley), oil on linen, 25 x 30 in.
“Dennis Ziemienski and GL Richardson [are] two artists divergent in style, yet united in their exploration of human experience and the vast landscapes of the West,” says Blue Rain’s Leah Garcia. “Ziemienski’s richly colored images, steeped in the traditions of early 20th-century painting and poster design, evoke timeless Americana, while Richardson’s work delves into the depths of human emotion and existentialism, finding beauty and melancholy in the cosmic significance of life. Together, they evoke a tapestry of emotion, depth and timeless beauty, bridging the gap between conceptualism and classical composition.”
Dennis Ziemienski, Drugs, oil on canvas, 36 x 24 in.
The show will feature Virginia-born, Santa Fe-based Richardson’s painting New Fronts and Breadcrumbs, showing a single rider against a moody haze of color that fills the background. “[It is] a painting of a woman on a horse, looking over a ridge at something we as the viewer can’t see. I don’t like being prescriptive in what a painting means, but to me it’s about following less-than signs (breadcrumbs) into unknown territory (new fronts),” Richardson says of the painting. “As far as less-than signs go, the only thing visible to us is a tiny star. I like the idea of only knowing a direction, not a destination. The rider is my partner Anna, with horse Milka, and we were spending time with our good friend Lynae on the ranch that she manages, which is also where Anna and I met.”
GL Richardson, New Fronts and Breadcrumbs, oil on panel, 39¾ x 39¾ in.
Northern California-based Ziemienski will be showing a mixture of work from several of his most popular categories, including Southwestern landscapes, images that celebrate car culture and road travel, and neon lights, a subject he discovered when he was very young. “...I visited my grandmother in San Francisco and she had a bar across the street where she lived and it had this magnificent neon sign that flashed a scene of a football player kicking a football. I was hooked from that moment,” the artist says. “I’ve since spent a great deal of time admiring neon signs all around the country, including along Route 66 throughout the Southwest. I often paint them during daylight so I can get these unique shadows of the glass tubing on the sign.”
The Blue Rain show will continue through August 10. —
Blue Rain Gallery 544 S. Guadalupe Street » Santa Fe, NM 87501 » (505) 954-9902 » www.blueraingallery.com
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