Show Preview | Jonason & Woodard

Santa Fe, NM
Manitou Galleries, November 8-December 31

This story was featured in the November 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art November 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

THIS MONTH, Manitou Galleries on Canyon Road in Santa Fe presents a two-person show featuring paintings by David Jonason and sculpture by Greg Woodard. The show opens with an artists’ reception on Friday, November 8, from 5 to 7 p.m. and runs through December 31. This is the first show at Manitou Galleries for both artists—but that’s far from the only thing they have in common. In fact, the show, aptly titled Southwestern Synergy, reveals several parallels between the two. “An integral part of this pairing is conveyed by their experiences,” says the gallery’s Cyndi Hall. “Both Jonason and Woodard explore rugged boundaries and timeless symmetries within the American Southwest.”

Additionally, both artists have recently been exploring somewhat new avenues in their work, honing in on their longtime fascination with the Southwest’s rich cultural, ecological, and architectural history. As a result, their latest works exhibit commonalities as explicit as the influence of Georgia O’Keeffe and as ineffable as the visceral attraction to the harsh, rugged beauty of the desert Southwest.

“The desert is like this otherworldly, strange, and dramatic place,” says Jonason, who plans to include 12 to 15 new paintings in the show. “I’ve been fascinated with these landscapes since I was a kid, and they continue to have a hold on my artistic imagination.” In addition to the vibrant cubist landscapes Jonason is known for, this show includes several new pieces that focus on New Mexico’s ancient pueblos—another important feature of the region that has always captivated him. “The traditional mud-brick adobe architecture is very special to me. It springs from the earth around it and always seems to fit in organically with its surroundings,” Jonason says.

In the same organic way, Jonason’s architectural paintings pair naturally with his landscapes, the sacred structures adding to the sense of awe and wonder in all his work. “These pieces were all inspired by my latest trip to some of my favorite places in my favorite state, including Valles Caldera and Ghost Ranch, where Georgia O’Keeffe lived and painted,” he says.

Woodard’s latest explorations also invoke the spirit of O’Keeffe and her paintings of skulls. The sculptor is best known for his bronze works featuring wildlife, Native Americans, and other western themes. Recently, however, Woodard has been experimenting with new subjects and mate-rials including concrete, steel, and animal skulls. He plans to bring three to five new works to the show, including a large piece centered around a longhorn skull made of concrete. Steel and other materials were used to create additional features and formations that wrap around and extend from the skull.

The juxtaposition of these various elements in Woodard’s new work is at once striking and calming. It’s almost as if he’s directly channeling the grit, raw beauty, and indomitable spirit of the Southwest to which so many are drawn. Perhaps these unplanned synergies are not so unusual after all. As Woodard puts it, “I find that art, like many things in life, has a natural rhythm that tends to lead it to the place that’s right in the end.” —Lindsay Mitchell

contact information
505.986.9833
www.manitougalleries.com

This story was featured in the November 2019 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art November 2019 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

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