Show Preview | Teruko Wilde

Taos, NM
Total Arts Gallery, July 12-August 3

Teruko Wilde, Autumn Day, oil, 42 x 42.

This story was featured in the July 2014 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art July 2014 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story!

Teruko Wilde moved to Taos, NM, in 1986, and when she looks back to that time decades ago, she still recalls how she immediately felt at home in the small town nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Wilde explains that Taos is reminiscent of the town where she grew up in Japan, where her home was near the foothills. “The mountains in Japan were small in scale compared to the mountains in Taos, but what a wonderful feeling I had right away,” she recalls. “I knew I was going to make Taos my home.”

Today, the landscape of Taos and the surrounding area often attracts her creative eye. Although Wilde paints still lifes, figurative pieces, and landscapes, she says it is her love of nature that keeps her returning to capturing natural wonders on canvas. She also jokes that she loves to paint the landscape “because it doesn’t talk back.” This month Total Arts Gallery presents a show of more than 25 new landscapes by Wilde; it opens with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 12.

Collectors can expect to see paintings that depict Taos and northern New Mexico in Wilde’s favorite season, fall. Her color palette holds a mirror to the fiery oranges, reds, and yellows that fill the trees near her home during autumn, as well as to the breathtaking multicolored southwestern skies. One of these pieces, GLORIOUS MORNING, was selected as the poster image for the 40th annual Taos Fall Arts Festival, which takes place September 26-October 5. The painting is a quintessential Wilde work not only in its bold colors but also in its delicate balance between abstraction and realism. The piece is also an example of  Wilde’s lush, juicy textures and intriguing use of shapes.

Although Wilde creates sketches on location to use as reference material, she considers herself a studio painter of contemporary landscapes. She is not likely to be found on painting excursions with a cadre of plein-air artists. Wilde is the first to say that she prefers the solitude of the studio, where she can focus on her creative goals—interpreting the landscape and capturing the emotion she was feeling as she first laid eyes on an intriguing scene. Wilde also likes to concentrate on positive feelings and emotions. “I like for people to be able to feel happiness and a good energy when they see my paintings,” Wilde says. “I hope people enjoy my work.”

After 28 years of living in Taos,  Wilde says she finds the landscape of her adopted hometown just as “spellbinding” as the first day she arrived. “The Taos land and light is unwavering in its relentless inspiration for me,” she says. —Bonnie Gangelhoff

contact information
575.758.4667
www.totalartsgallery.com

Featured in the July 2014 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
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