Online at NYM's News
New Works by Norah & Eliza Naranjo Morse. WHAT: New Works by Nora & Eliza Naranjo Morse, Opening Reception, Artists in Attendance
WHERE: Gary Farmer Gallery of Contemporary Art 131 W. San Francisco St. Santa Fe, NM 87501
WHEN: July 14, 5-8pm, Show runs through August 7th
COST: None
The Gary Farmer Gallery of Contemporary Art presents highly acclaimed artists Nora and Eliza Naranjo Morse, of Santa Clara Pueblo. Nora, a sculptor, painter, printmaker and Eliza, Nora's daughter a painter, team up for this, the gallery's second show. The show focuses on an interaction between material and artist. By an awareness of potential in a discarded object, the work was made. In Eliza's work, tea bags were used because of their physical versatility which allowed for a total abstraction from their recognized shape and acted as a focus in the study of space, form and line. Similarly, Nora chose scraps of paper to use as a formal vehicle in expressing the idea of seasons. The result of these partnerships captures a moment that describes the continuous building up and breaking down of any life cycle, the old always nurturing the new.
Gallery owner Gary Farmer relates, "Nora is a great friend, and I've watched her develop as an artist, mother, wife, daughter, and sister -- I've seen it all in play and life. She represents process like no other artist I've known. "I saw Eliza's work through her mother and was so impressed with her unique artistry and persona. It lead us to treasures every time." Nora Naranjo Morse is an artist who currently works primarily in clay and bronze. Her work can be found in the collections of the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Ariz., Minnesota Institute of Art in Minneapolis and the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. She has been featured in group and solo exhibitions at the White House, Portland Art Museum, Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa and the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M.
In May 2006, The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall announced that Nora Naranjo Morse was the winner of the museum's outdoor sculpture design competition, for her sculpture, "Always Becoming". Says Nora Naranjo Morse, "Native culture and the environment served as the inspiration for my sculpture design."
Eliza Naranjo Morse is a very talented young painter whose work has been evolving from figurative to more abstracted, organic forms painted on canvas. In her current work for this exhibit Eliza explores this important transition by considering material and concept with the same awareness given to visual themes. She paints on canvas with tea and other organic materials. "I drew from tea bags for their structure and human organs for their loose line," says Eliza. She explains her process: "The tea was mixed with water and boiled down to make several shades of brown. In these works I am aware of the more fragile nature of my paint. They are natural and will eventually break down. My creative process is so connected to the way I am experiencing the world, that working to simplify my life resulted in the theme of this series...I began to look closely at recurring themes in my art and breaking them down into their simplest forms."
The Gary Farmer Gallery Of Contemporary Art opened just a month ago (June 10, 2006). The gallery is a joint venture by character actor Gary Farmer (Powwow Highway, Dead Man, Smoke Signals, Ghost Dog) and his partner Deborah Lamal, at 131 W. San Francisco Street in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico. [NYM's News]
6:09:47 PM 
|
|
