For Andrea Vargas’ new show, hosted at King Galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the title, Rose Quartz Leads to Gold, is symbolic. “When looking for precious minerals like gold, outcrops of rose quartz are clues for the treasure hunter to follow,” Vargas explains. “Gold is also a state of being—nirvana, wholeness and peace. Meanwhile, rose quartz is the mineral that corresponds to the heart. Therefore, a journey guided by heart is a path to wealth.”
Edge of Abiquiu, oil, 24 x 40 in.
In a nutshell, the show’s theme is about journey, and Vargas hopes her paintings inspire a desire for adventure. The artist frequently travels between her two home bases in Southern California and Santa Fe, and for the new collection of around 26 works, she celebrates and honors the landscape of New Mexico, and more specifically, the area of Abiquiu.
“I feel infinitely wealthy when I can carry my paints to a remote plein air destination and stand at the precipice of a canyon overlooking the Chama River,” Vargas shares. “I feel inspired and humbled at the base of the mountains at Ghost Ranch, watching a moonrise over the desert plains. When I discover beauty, I understand that it is my fortune to see, breath and inhale nature’s gifts. For this reason, my paintings are my offering—succinct and reverent.”
Love is in the Air, oil, 7 x 5 in.
Vargas’ painting Cielo De Fuego (Sky Fire), a vertical scene containing a vibrant orange and yellow sky above an equally colorful landscape, depicts the Rio Chama River.
A centerpiece for the show, aptly titled Rose Quartz Leads to Gold, pays homage to Vargas’ favorite portion of Abiquiu in New Mexico. “It is literally the vista I can see in the morning from Casita de Arrebol, a place I stay every summer and where I can collaborate with photographers such as Courtney Perez, who captured me while painting Steady Winds at Ghost Ranch.”
Rose Quartz Leads to Gold, oil, 36 x 36 in.
Vargas’ style—a mix of broad and tight brush strokes, texture and bold color—is achieved with only two tools: short handle three-inch brushes and wide palette knives. “Both create unusual moments of texture on the surfaces of the canvases,” the artist adds. In addition, her technique aids toward an impeccable feeling of motion and flow.
Collector’s will find additional works like Edge of Abiquiu, depicting a bright blue sky over a textured landscape; and Venana #1 and Love is in the Air, both showing a unique, vertical perspective involving a colorful sky and part of an adobe structure. Also included in the show, is a larger version of a past painting Vargas created titled After the Storm.
Steady Winds at Ghost Ranch, oil, 12 x 36 in.
“This last March, the C.M. Russell Museum in Montana sold one of my thundercloud paintings at auction,” explains Vargas. “It was a painting inspired by a dangerous excursion I had in the desert when a monsoon trapped me on the road between two flooded arroyos. I have included [another] iteration, After the Storm, because journeys are not always easy.”
Join Andrea Vargas and King Galleries on a new journey and a vibrant celebration of new paintings from July 25 through August 1. —
King Galleries 130 Lincoln Avenue, Suite D » Santa Fe, NM 87501 » (480) 440-3912 » www.kinggalleries.com
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