NEW EYES ON NEW MEXICO
Victoria Chick Exhibit from February 7- March 21, 2020, at the Richardson Gallery of the Branigan Cultural Center, Las Cruces, New Mexico.
On this Big Blend Radio episode contemporary figurative artist Victoria Chick discusses her painting collection “New Eyes on New Mexico”, which will be on display from February 7 – March 21, 2020 in the Richardson Gallery of the Branigan Cultural Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
This is an opportunity to show a large group of paintings that are related in theme, something I appreciate doing because it makes my reason for doing the paintings clearer to the viewer.
Southwest New Mexico was a surprise to me geologically. It was also a surprise in the kinds of animals I encountered for the first time, as well as plants that were new to me.
For many years I did psychologically grounded paintings using cat images to express human situations and emotions. At the Santa Ysabel Gallery in California, a lady in the Mesa Grande Tribe saw my work and the Gallery owner later told me the lady said the cat must be my totem. That was a new term in reference to me personally. But, when I thought about it, what I paint as my alter ego, is not too far removed from the totem idea. As I have gone through life, cats have always shown me something new, sometimes fleetingly and sometimes as companions. In this case, my preconceived ideas about New Mexico changed the more I saw.
Down By the Rio Grande
In the NEW EYES ON NEW MEXICO exhibit, cats are the narrative vehicle for me to share with viewers the sense of discovery of things unique to my Southwest New Mexico experience and the pleasure I have living here. Seeing things through animals is not limited to cats. One of the joys I have is discovering seldom -seen places on horseback. These adventures find their way into my work too. This limited exhibit of a dozen paintings has some gaps and, no doubt, those visiting the exhibit will point out things that aren’t here that mean New Mexico to them. That is a good thing because it gets conversation going and we can express appreciation for this great and fascinating southern part of New Mexico.
The Branigan Cultural Center is located at 105 Main St. Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Victoria Chick is the founder of the Cow Trail Art Studio in southwest New Mexico. She received a B.A. in Art from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and awarded an M.F.A. in Painting from Kent State University in Ohio. Visit her website at www.ArtistVictoriaChick.com
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