PROMOTIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Gallery Row: Still Life
In this promotional spotlight dedicated to still lifes, our editor worked with the galleries featured to showcase artists who are drawn to this traditional form of art. The three artists included are meticulous in their planning and bold in their styles. They represent just a sampling of how artists are pushing the genre to new heights with their creative visions.
The Adobe Fine Art
Ruidoso, NM
(575) 257-5795 | theadobefineart.com
Denise Imke is an artist living in New Mexico who finds inspiration in her surroundings. Her still life compositions often feature antique Southwest objects in a contemporary setting like the beautiful vessel in CELEBRATION OF PAST AND PRESENT. Describing her love of still lifes, Imke says, “From the very first time I put a brush to canvas, I’ve been enamored with recording the beauty of ordinary objects. We don’t often stop to appreciate the multitude of colors or the way light describes the form of a copper pail. I find this very soothing to the soul and want to share that peaceful moment with everyone who sees one of my paintings.”
Denise Imke, Celebration of Past and Present, oil on panel, 11 x 14.
American Legacy Fine Arts
Pasadena, CA
(626) 577-7733 | americanlegacyfinearts.com
California-based painter Mary Kay West, born in Asheville, North Carolina, in 1954, began her professional artistic pursuits in the mid-1980s. In 1990 she began as an apprentice to fresco artist Benjamin F. Long IV and finished studies in 1994 with a specialization in still life and landscapes. Her work is distinguished by her passion for birds and a detailed trompe l’oeil style. American Legacy Fine Arts director Elaine Adams says, “Looking at a Mary Kay West trompe l’oeil painting brings immense joy and instantly uplifts one’s spirit. The depiction of beautiful birds thriving and contentedly inhabiting our interior space evokes a strong sense of connection, allowing us to empathize and share in their freedom.”
Mary Kay West, The Cabinet, oil on panel, 18 x 14.
Blue Rain Gallery
Santa Fe, NM & Durango, CO
(505) 954-9902 & (970) 232-2033 | blueraingallery.com
The paintings of self-taught artist Eric Romero combine bold colors and metaphors that reflect inspirations from the Old Masters and his life in New Mexico. He says, “My work explores the relationship between myth, philosophy and culture. With influences of the people and history of the Southwest, new insights are distilled from both opaque and transparent structures.” His work SABIO PENDEJO (WISE FOOL) is one such example. It is, as the artist says, a “painting about process” with each item carrying multiple meanings. For example, the “bee on the egg represents the pollination of ideas between artists both past and present.” The painting was previously on exhibit at the Chicano Park Museum in San Diego, California.
Eric Romero, Sabio Pendejo (Wise Fool), oil on canvas, 30 x 24.
This story appeared in the October/November 2024 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Subscribe today to read every issue in its entirety.