History is alive in Taos, New Mexico, from Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with adobe buildings dating back more than 1,000 years, to a vibrant art scene of young artists—and a rich history in between.
Robert L. Parsons Fine Art shows the work of the Taos Society of Artists, Taos Founders, Early Santa Fe and Taos Art Colonies as well as 19th-century Navajo weavings and pueblo pottery.
Amery Bohling, The Monolith, oil, 20 x 30 in.
Robert Parsons’ daughter, Ashley Rolshoven Loveless, shows contemporary work at Parsons Gallery of the West in the former home and studio of Victor Higgins, the youngest founding member of the Taos Society of Artists in 1915.
She will present Young West 2025 from May 16 through mid-June. She says, “This select stable of artists is the next generation of American Western Art painters for our gallery. It is an honor to have such a talented and professional group of young artists who represent our gallery. We are proud to watch each of their career’s blossom on a national level. We will be featuring Amery Bohling, Chloé Marie Burk, Katelyn Betsill Del Vecchio, Nicholas Coleman, Aaron Garlick, Drew Macias, Dan Stovall and Nathanael Volckening.”
Aaron Garlick was born and raised in Taos. Gifted with the art making genes of his artist mother and grandmother, he is known for his portraits and, beginning eight years ago, his dynamic representations of the northern New Mexico landscape. He has found inspiration in the work of the two most modern of the Taos Founders, Ernest L. Blumenschein and Victor Higgins.
Chloé Marie Burk, Taking Flight, oil, 18 x 24 in.
The zig-zag composition of Fall Rains begins at the top with the patches of falling rain referred to as “walking rain” by pueblo people because one can see the edges of the downpours. Beneath the clouds he has painted an accurate rendition of the peak of El Salto, north of Taos. The land below the peak is relatively flat but in the painting, Garlick summarizes “the feeling I get from the landscapes of the area. Victor Higgins encouraged painters to look for the feeling of a place. I learned that from Jerry Jordan, too, who has also taught me how to discover what a painting needs, how to understand color and, technically, how to apply paint. Jerry is fearless with the amount of paint he’ll put down.”
Nicholas Coleman, Swan Valley at Dusk, oil, 30 x 24 in
The lower parts of Fall Rains are his impressions of various aspects of the landscape—the pink and tan sand of the desert, the soft forms of old adobe buildings and poplar trees near his aunt’s home north of Taos. All are created in painterly gestures.
Perhaps the greatest influence among the greats who came before him is Nicolai Fechin. “I love his sense of contrast—hard edges, soft edges warm/cool, rough/smooth,” says the artist. “There are well-defined faces in his portraits surrounded by abstract strokes of rough impasto.”
Aaron Garlick, Fall Rains, oil, 24 x 18 in.
Chloe Marie Gaillard Burk’s Taking Flight, is the creative combination of her life-long love of horses, her career in haute couture, her love of folk art and the study of the colors and patterns of Native American art. “I don’t try to copy the patterns,” she says. “Most of the time I invent them. I like to put my own thoughts in my paintings.”
Drew Macias, All in a Days Work, oil, 20 x 10 in.
She lived for a time in Taos before moving to Montana and then to Texas. “A friend handed me a book on Frederic Remington (1861-1909) before I moved to Taos,” she says. “I fell in love with his style. I realized then that painting Western art was a good way of expressing the inspiration of my childhood. I’m refinding my roots in a different way. Here I’ve discovered the artists of the Taos Society and in Montana I found Charles Russell (1864-1926). I also found Henry Farny (1847-1916) who was born in France and moved here with his family. He painted the Plains Indians.”
Dan Stovall, The Last, oil, 32 x 26 in.
Amery Bohling is a native of Arizona, striving for accuracy in her paintings of the Grand Canyon and the landscape of the West. She returns often to familiar locations, experiencing and recording them in different seasons, and the subtle shifts of color in different light and atmospheric conditions.
Nathanael Volckening, Tempest Glow, oil, 20 x 16 in.
Scott Christensen taught her the importance of painting on site. “Every painting of mine begins outdoors,” she explains. Armed with her sketches, photos and memories, she returns to her studio. “Sometimes,” she says, “when I return to the studio and look at my photos, they don’t impress me as much. I want to paint the feeling I had when I was there and how I saw things then. I learned how to play with the colors, to exaggerate a little and twist the view with a bit of distortion.” —
Katelyn Betsill Del Vecchio, Layers of Heaven, oil, 29 x 39½ in.
Parsons Gallery of the West 122 Kit Carson Road, Suite #D » Taos, NM 87571 » (575) 737-9200 » www.parsonsart.com/parsonswest
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