Wilder Nightingale Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
May 29-June 20
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- Peggy Immel, 38 Ranchos Plaza, oil, 12 x 12.
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- Steve Immel, Adobe at Ranchos Plaza, photograph.
For painter Peggy Immel and her husband, photographer Steve Immel, creating an art life together for the last 54 years has come as naturally as breathing. Although they work in different media, their shared strengths in composition, values, design, and other artistic principles create an underlying commonality in their artwork. The Immels’ relationship is mutually supportive, giving each the time and space needed to create while offering plenty of opportunities for inspiring conversation and constructive feedback in a noncompetitive environment.
Rob Nightingale, owner of Wilder Nightingale Fine Art, has hosted three shows for the couple since 2015. For the 2021 exhibition, Nightingale and the Immels decided they would turn a fresh eye toward their beloved New Mexico and Southwestern surroundings by switching up the way they capture them. The show, titled Immel Squared: New Perspectives, features approximately 15 works from each artist created exclusively in a square format, which forced the artists to reconsider familiar scenes—both artists’ preferred format is horizontal. The Immels feel this approach has allowed them to realize more intimate aspects of previously overlooked areas.
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- Peggy Immel, Truchas Spring, oil, 10 x 10.
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- Steve Immel, Moon Rising, photograph.
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- Steve Immel, Into the Clouds, photograph.
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- Peggy Immel, Suntipped, oil, 10 x 10.
“The show is an opportunity to see anew the subjects I’ve painted in and around Taos numerous times,” says Peggy, who has been a professional painter for 19 years and was a graphics artist and illustrator for 20 years before that. “Changing formats allowed me to find creative ways to paint the same subject while providing a design puzzle that’s been fun to solve.” Peggy’s ongoing appreciation for the diverse landscapes of New Mexico and the Southwest is on full view in her light-filled paintings, whose subjects range from conifer forests and mountain villages to high-desert scrubland and spectacular sunsets.
Steve also exhibits some of his most treasured subjects—grand Taos skies, vast desert vistas, and aged architecture—in his striking black-and-white photography. “The theme of this show encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone and show less of my subject instead of more,” the award-winning photographer says. “Two years ago I might have photographed a particular historic building in its entirety, but now I’m showing a different angle and aspect ratio, focused in on texture and detail. If viewers have to think about or ask what the subject is, I think that’s a good thing.” Although Steve has several New Mexico views on display, his primary subjects are always strong design and a great story, demonstrated in both his realistic and abstract work.
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- Steve Immel, Cruz Blanca, photograph.
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- Peggy Immel, Autumn Oranges, oil, 10 x 10.
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- Peggy Immel, Rio Grande January, oil, 12 x 12.
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- Steve Immel, Walking Rain, photograph.
The Immels plan to attend the show’s opening reception on Saturday, May 29, which takes place from 12 to 7 p.m. to allow for smaller crowds and social distancing throughout the day. All artwork is available for purchase by contacting the gallery. –Allison Malafronte
contact information
575.758.3255
www.nightingale.com
This story appeared in the May 2021 issue of Southwest Art magazine.