By Gussie Fauntleroy
“My brother says I paint in metaphor,” offers contemporary realist Sandy Freckleton Gagon. “I think it’s true. I like symbolic imagery that incorporates layers. It can be just beautiful, or the viewer can delve into deeper levels of meaning.” In Gagon’s quietly eloquent still-life work, some symbolism is clear: seeds, butterflies, fruit, and nests speak of transformation and nurturing young growth, reflecting her passion for motherhood and family. (She and her artist/writer husband, Dave, have four children.) Small stacks of rocks, like cairns that mark a trekker’s path, suggest guideposts in the journey of life. And “postcard” reproductions of great masters’ works pay homage to earlier artists, while often reprising the theme of tenderness between mother and child.
Gagon, who also paints figures, lives in a Salt Lake City, UT, suburb. She paints from life, often incorporating objects found and given to her by loved ones, which adds another, more personal layer of meaning to her art. Yet beyond all metaphor, she believes, is simple beauty, the sublime aesthetic that feeds the soul. These days her eye is drawn to a sense of harmony and Zen-like calm. “I like to help viewers see the world in a different way,” she reflects. Gagon’s work has been in major invitational realism shows and is represented by Leslie Levy Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ, and Phillips Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT.
Featured in “Artists to Watch” January 2006