Show Preview | Suzanne Donazetti

Santa Fe, NM
Waxlander Gallery, October 7-20

Suzanne Donazetti, August Dawn I, copper/mixed media, 16 x 16.

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

Suzanne Donazetti began her 
artistic journey more than 20 years ago in Albuquerque, NM. Along the way, she created works in all types of media—
including painting, fiber, and jewelry—until one day she decided to try something she’d never seen done before: weaving metal. She started experimenting with sheets of copper or silver, painting them, bending them, and then cutting them into strips and weaving them together to create three-dimensional works for the wall. The result was instantly satisfying, and she was soon gaining recognition for her unique mixed-media works imbued with the meditative and spiritual qualities of light, form, and movement. “Once in a while in life you get a ‘eureka’ moment,” Donazetti says. “This was one of those moments for me.”

This month at Waxlander Gallery in Santa Fe, the artist presents more than 30 new works in a solo show with an artist’s reception from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 10. “This show is not only a celebration of Donazetti’s 
creative process, but it also marks a notable life event for the artist: her recent move back to Carrizozo, NM, after seven years in Maryland,” explains the gallery’s Bonnie French. Aptly titled Coming Home, the show features works inspired by Donazetti’s return to the Land of Enchantment. “The light here in New Mexico is so wonderful, and I have already seen it affecting my work,” the artist says. “The colors and the patterns are changing as I am inspired by my new surroundings—especially the way the light moves across the New Mexico landscape.”

Of course, the inspiration behind Donazetti’s work has always come from observing the effects of light and color
on a wide range of landscapes and then translating those qualities into an abstract design. “The weaving adds randomness to the design so that what was originally an abstract representation of light moving across a landscape becomes more fragmented and layered,” she explains. And yet, within the complex abstract layers of her work, Donazetti’s ultimate goal remains pure and simple: “I hope to communicate a sense of harmony and provide an opportunity for meditation, contemplation, and calmness in the viewer,” she says. —Lindsay Mitchell

contact information
505.984.2202

www.waxlander.com

Featured in the October 2014 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art October 2014 print issue or digital download Or subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss a story!