Show Preview | Act I Gallery: Silvery Winter Light

Taos, NM
February 1-March 31

Peggy McGivern, Red Earth II, oil, 46 x 40.

Peggy McGivern, Red Earth II, oil, 46 x 40.

This story was featured in the February 2014 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art February 2014 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story!

Act I Gallery in Taos celebrates 
its 25th anniversary by presenting a 
special show this month. Since the 25th is traditionally the silver anniversary, gallery owner Anita Ellison has titled 
the show Silvery Winter Light. “Artists are creating works that reflect a loose interpretation of the subject,” Ellison explains. “There will be snowy winter scenes of the Taos area. One painter portrays polar bears, coyotes, and other wildlife. We’ll be exhibiting many beautiful landscapes as well as figurative work. Also on display will be fine-art glass and gourd maidens. It will be the largest show ever in the gallery.”

Silvery Winter Light opens with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 1, and runs through the end of March. Participants include 34 
gallery artists—such as Kent Hicks, Mary Ann Warner, Peggy McGivern, and 
Dinah K. Worman—as well as guest artists Rebecca Mannschreck, Cathy Haight, and Lydia Piper. As part of the celebration, Ellison has scheduled three free collectors’ classes, which feature panel discussions with artists on the elements that help create a great work of art. The classes are from 2 to 4 p.m. on February 15, March 1, and March 15.

The landscape in and around Taos is the primary inspiration for oil painter Kent Hicks. “I get the most incredible views from my house,” Hicks says. “Even when I’m in other parts of town, it 
seems as if I can turn around at any time of the day and see the most amazing mountain views and that beautiful Taos sky.” Some of Hicks’ paintings are focused on a section of land along the road between Taos and the village of Mora. “There are places along the route where the rivers meander,” Hicks adds. “They’re really charming.”

Cletus Smith, The Long Way Home, oil, 30 x 40.

Cletus Smith, The Long Way Home, oil, 30 x 40.

A section of the Rio Chama just west of the village of Abiquiu has captured the heart of painter Mary Ann Warner, whose works in the show include three new oils of that area. Warner returned to the Rio Chama to paint en plein air 
after a three-year hiatus when she was 
dealing with knee and back pain. “There’s a terrifically beautiful bend in the Rio Chama that I love to paint,” 
she says. “I’ve missed going there for 
the past three autumns. I’m so glad 
I was able to make the trip there 
in October.”

Although she is passionate about color and partial to painting in 
autumn, Warner decided to challenge herself to create a work that 
reflects the show’s Silvery Winter 
Light theme. “During the third day of my October painting trip on the Rio Chama, a storm blew in,” she recalls. 
“I found an interesting composition with lots of movement near the Cerro Pedernal. I was looking for a scene with cool or gray colors.” The resulting 
painting, EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING, is prominently featured in the show. —Emily Van Cleve

contact information
575.758.7831
www.actonegallery.com

Featured in the February 2014 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art February 2014 print issue or digital download Or subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss a story!

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