Show Preview | RS Hanna Gallery: Spirit of the Horse

Fredericksburg, TX, November 1-30

Elizabeth Pollie, The Fellowship, oil, 12 x 24.

This story was featured in the November 2012 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Order the Southwest Art November 2012 print edition here, or purchase the Southwest Art November 2012 digital download here. Or simply subscribe to Southwest Art magazine and never miss a story!

“While it’s impossible to know where humankind would be without horses, I think it’s safe to say we would be in an altogether different place,” says artist Elizabeth Pollie. “My personal relationship to the animal is one of an ardent admirer. I love the way they move, the drumbeat of their hooves as they run, the subtle turn of their ears. Their form simply lends itself to artistic interpretation.”

Lindsey Bittner Graham, Two Seconds Left, oil, 24 x 17.

Pollie displays five or six new paintings this month alongside two other artists’ interpretations of the horse—paintings by Lindsey Bittner Graham and sculpture by Daniel Glanz. The Spirit of the Horse show runs November 1-30 at RS Hanna Gallery, with an artists’ reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, November 2. While Pollie often paints horses hitched to wagons and carriages, this body of work focuses on the animal at rest or play. “It’s my way of saying ‘There you go, take the day off. You’ve earned it,’” she says.

In contrast, TWO SECONDS LEFT by Lindsey Bittner Graham depicts the athleticism and strength of a bucking horse. “I wanted to convey the wild spirit of this horse, the motion, the heat of the afternoon, the sport of rodeo,” says Graham, who displays about 10 recent works in the show. Graham has had a passion for horses since her childhood in Kentucky. “Their incredible anatomy, strength, and form has always captivated me,” she says. When Graham was in high school, her family moved to Colorado, where she developed “a new fascination with the West and how the cowboy way of life is still alive today.”

Daniel Glanz, Two Step, bronze, 9 x 10 x 5.

Another Colorado artist, sculptor Daniel Glanz, says the “strong horse culture” and the variety of breeds throughout the area are constant sources of inspiration. “Working with the beautiful musculature, mass, and shape of the horse anatomy has always intrigued me,” Glanz says. He is often compelled to depict work horses, but says that with his recent  pieces, “the slightly less massive qualities of other breeds are beginning to capture me as well.” —Lindsay Mitchell

contact information
830.307.3071
 www.rshannagallery.com

Featured in the November 2012 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art magazine November 2012 digital download
Southwest Art magazine November 2012 print edition
Or subscribe to Southwest Art magazine and never miss a story!