Show Preview | Natasha Isenhour - Southwest Art Magazine

Santa Fe, NM
Ventana Fine Art, June 5-17

Natasha Isenhour, The Promise of the Sun, pastel, 20 x 24.

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“I WANT TO give you somewhere to go where you can just let mind and spirit be calm,” says Natasha Isenhour of her masterly oil paintings and pastels, most of which depict the tranquil landscapes, welcoming rural architecture, and wildlife of south-central New Mexico near her home, which is close to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Ventana Fine Art extends that generous-hearted invitation through Earth and Sky, an exhibition of more than two dozen recent works by the artist. Should an opening reception not be possible on the evening of Friday, June 5, fans of Isenhour’s can still expect to see a generous dose of her artwork on the gallery’s website and social-media accounts, including short video clips offering close-ups and commentary on each piece in the show.

: Natasha Isenhour, Influence, pastel, 8 x 16.

: Natasha Isenhour, Liquid Light, pastel, 12 x 24.

: Natasha Isenhour, After the Rain, pastel, 12 x 24.

“Natasha takes people to places they wouldn’t discover without her,” says Ventana sales manager Wolfgang Mabry. “In both oils and pastels, her wonderful command of composition, perspective, color, contrast, and other things that make paintings great enables her to bring a certain drama to her work.” Sometimes, that drama feels serenely hushed, as in the pastel PEACE IN THE SHADOW OF MORNING, a late-summer view of farmland near the Rio Grande not long after dawn, depicted with diagonal lines that subtly draw the viewer irresistibly inward. “I like the idea,” says the artist, “that this painting can settle your mind and your heart. I aspire for people to feel grounded when they look at my work.”

Still other pieces offer a more dynamic but nonetheless soothing energy, such as scenes Isenhour refers to informally as her “red sky” paintings. THE PROMISE OF THE SUN, for example, presents a fiery dawn in the Bosque del Apache. “People are just dazzled by how Natasha interprets a sun-set. It takes incredible skill to put in colors that we don’t usually see until she shows us,” notes Mabry. Adds the artist, “I’m so taken with the vastness of the Bosque, especially when the sky is doing its magic and reflecting on the vegetation and the water, lighting them up in oranges and reds.” Despite such drama, she feels compelled to add that this particular work’s title may well have arisen from the fact that, “in spite of all the crazy stuff that has been going on, you know the sun is going to rise on a new day.”

: Natasha Isenhour, Last Chapter, pastel, 20 x 24.

: Natasha Isenhour, One Precious Second, pastel, 12 x 24.

: Natasha Isenhour, Refuge, pastel, 24 x 36.

Even when Isenhour ranges farther afield than her usual territory, she creates a familiar sense of welcome. ORDER, for example, based on a photo that a friend sent her from a visit to Morocco, offers a pleasingly jumbled view of old apartment buildings and laundry hung up to dry in the morning sun. The setting feels at once exotic and familiar, a testament to Isenhour’s ability to distill the essence of our shared human experience in this world regardless of the subject. —Norman Kolpas

contact information
505.983.8815
www.ventanafineart.com