Fire is the ultimate paradox within nature. It is devastating and destructive, yet it can add nutrients to the soil, clear out overgrowth and give new forests a chance to take root. Fire is at once a scourge on the land, and also part of the natural order of life in an ecosystem. Fire and the earth represent a conflict that painter Tony Abeyta connects with for his newest show opening August 15 at Owings Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
California Canyon Wildfire, oil on canvas, 50 x 60 in.
“There is so much narrative in these new pieces. The forest fire paintings—as well as works that show the land changing from tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme temperatures—were part of me bearing witness to these incendiary moments in California, first with the Pacific Palisades fires and then later these moments of conflict amid protests. It was right after the fires that I flew back to California and started working on these pieces,” Abeyta says. “Seeing the land change, I saw an opportunity to use conflict as an element to express ideas about conflict, whether it’s fire or the political discord we’re seeing.”
Parallel Worlds, oil on canvas, 50 x 60 in.
Many of the works will feature the Southwest, including around his home in Santa Fe, but there are also several paintings from Yosemite National Park, which he refers to as a “arena for the landscape to talk about the eternal beauty of the land.” Some of his research for these pieces included reading about the first Indigenous people to live in Yosemite Valley. “They would use fire to cut down the overgrowth in the area, so we, as humans, have had an impact on the environment and the climate for a long time. I’m not blaming them, or anyone, but I’m using that to look at man as a part of nature. And because Yosemite is a national park, there is an expectation we take care of it. We follow the rules of the park, we don’t litter or blare loud music—we interact respectfully.”
The Owings show will have about 15 new works that will represent a cross-section of Abeyta’s interests. Modernist landscapes, some of his most famous paintings, will be in the show, but so will his more abstract and modern pieces. One example is Entering the Sacred,a three-panel drawing on canvas that shows plants and wildlife living in a harmony within nature. “I want to create compositions that challenge me to look at forms, myths, mythologies and legends and tie them all to abstraction,” he says.
Dancing Land, oil on canvas, 50 x 60 in.
In other works, he refers to specific creatures, including bears, which he sees as the embodiment of the ferocity of nature, and horned toads, which are sacred to many Native American tribes in the Southwest. “They are the keepers of sentient wisdom, grandfatherly figures,” the Navajo painter says. “You never harm or hurt them. They are basically deities to many people, so putting them in a painting speaks to the power they have.”
Abeyta’s new show will coincide with city-wide events leading up to Santa Fe Indian Market. —
Owings Gallery 120 E. Marcy Street » Santa Fe, NM 87501 » (505) 982-6244 » www.owingsgallery.com
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