GEOFFREY GORMAN - EVOCATIVE CREATURES

I blogged Geoffrey - a mixed media found object artist - a few years back and this is how I described him and his work
 in my opening paragraph:

Geoffrey Gorman has a vibrant imagination and when he

creates one of his evocative, primordial animal sculptures

they seem to have time-traveled from another dimension. Fashioned

from sticks, old canvas, wire, and found objects, these amazing

creatures look as if they just emerged from an ancient

forest hallucinated by Edward Gorey and Dr. Seuss.

A studio visit and a delightful stroll through his new Gallery - Selby Fleetwood on Canyon Road - assured me that Geoffrey and his extraordinary beasts have only gotten more amazing. 

I'd love to 'hear' this Western Screech owl swooshing through the forest with those multi-colored wings!

How did this human get in here?

S T U D I O   V I S I T

His studio is still filled with a mishmash of stuff...

Carved wax heads soon to be ?????? Stay tuned...

"Lion" lurking/guarding a cashe of  paint cans...

In progress...

Q. If you could climb aboard one of your bird creatures - which one and where would you go?

A. I'm building an Albatross with an eleven-foot wingspan; and wherever that damn bird wanted to go!

THANKS GEOFFREY FOR LETTING ME INTO YOUR MAGICAL REALM ONCE AGAIN; AND I LOVED MEETING YOUR BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER...

S E L B Y   F L E E T W O O D   G A L L E R Y

600 Canyon Rd.   - Santa Fe

505.992.8877

http://www.selbyfleetwoodgallery.com

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WILLIAM DUBBY FUQUA - A HOUSE OF CURIOSITIES

WILLIAM DUBBY FUQUA  is a storyteller. But his narratives aren't written in words, they are crafted from found objects - each chosen to combine with others to tell a compelling  tale.  He strives for...

"A perfect match between objects; a story that is better understood

 with visuals."

His house is the repository of these wonderful curiosities and they are everywhere - reclining on tabletops; studding every wall; begging to be admired and deciphered.

He admits to being an inveterate stalker, hunting his objects just about everywhere - an arroyo, an antique shop, the woods, dilapidated buildings, Goodwill; and he accepts offerings from friends who delight in furthering his artistic endeavors.

"I find myself stalking the detritus of man and nature because I have to create!"

Born in Hollywood, California and moving between L.A. and Dallas for many years, he found himself in Santa Fe in 1969. But, It took four more back and forth moves to finally call Santa Fe home. 

His fascination with found objects began when he was nineteen. "I was sticking and gluing stuff together, but  had no idea what it was called, " notes Fuqua, whose past adventures are as quixotic and layered as his assemblages.

He admits to having been a petty hoodlum, a hippie, an outlaw/unlicensed barber  for some of the future rock stars of the 60's, a singer - the first white recording artist for the Chicago-based Chess Records, and finally a long-time tour manager for big-name musicians such as Joni Mitchell and The Rockets. And,  he is  a published author of a series of books - The Kalapastone Adventures - available on Amazon.com.  

I personally think he's missed his true calling..

1940's Gangster for hire!

If you'd like to meet this fascinating artist he will be part of a Group Show at THE ELLSWORTH GALLERY, opening February 6th.

213 East Palace Avenue - Santa Fe, NM

505.989.7900

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GINA MARIE & ROBERT ERLICHMAN

S P I R I T   O F   T W O   S T U D I O S

Happy, gorgeous and very, very talented. An apt description for this vibrant couple who met and married six years ago and have created a lovely home with two sun-lit studios filled with their art and creative spirit.

I met them at an opening of Gina's work at Gallery 901 on Canyon Road.

And I was immediately enchanted by Gina's sculptural mixed-media kimonos and intrigued to learn that Robert was a photographer and published beautifully, hand-crafted artist books. A studio visit followed and, of course, scores of photographs.

Color, texture and art fill every room in this wonderful house.

 

Gina's kimono & Robert's photographs share a wall.

T H E   S T U D I O S

ROBERT'S STUDIO is dominated by a behemoth printer that most photographers would kill for.  It is the kingpin of his publishing company - ART GUILD PRESS.  

He wears many hats - fine art photographer, master printer, graphic designer, publisher - and all these talents come together in his coffee-table books that showcase his images and emerge as limited-edition, hand-crafted art books - all printed in America.

His current project will showcase the work of famed American photographer GORDON PARKS, 1912 - 2006. Parks, says Robert, was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum at age 90 and in addition to his extraordinary career in photography, he was also an accomplished Hollywood film maker, musical composer and author of 15 books. 

Robert is archiving and re-creating Gordon Parks Signature Collection of 50 color photographs - IMAGES FROM THE SOUL - that will become a traveling museum exhibition, the original intent of Parks, who passed away before the project could be completed.

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GINA'S - TWO FEATHER STUDIO - is dominated by large work surfaces where she builds her lush kimonos that look like distressed metal but begin as wood panels transformed with unfired clay,  stencils, natural earth pigments, acid washes, and fused glass.

She describes them as both flawed and beautiful - very much as we are going through the aging process.

 Details...

A 6" x 6" work in progress for the Artist's Medical Relief fundraiser.

The kimono 'collars' are fashioned from burlap.

She does have a companion artist in her studio, her African Grey Parrot  MAGIC - who was discovered to be a paper shredding prodigy.

His lavish paper designs will be incorporated into a future art project, notes Gina, who will no doubt collaborate on the work.

And speaking of collaboration, Gina will be using Robert's Koi images in her next kimono design.

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A genuine happy couple.

2  F E A T H E R    S T U D I O

http://www.2featherstudio.com

A R T  G U I L D  P R E S S

http://www.artguildpress.com

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Q. If you could hang one piece of your work anywhere. Which piece & where?

Gina.  I would hang one of my large KIMONOS in the highest, most beautiful apartment in Manhattan. It would have a view of Central Park and hold court among Van Gogh, Picasso, Basquiat, and maybe a Warhol.

Q. What did you enjoy doing at age 10?

Robert.  I enjoyed a healthy mix of drawing, playing classical piano and playing all the street games popular in the Bronx, including SKULLY - a super game of strategy with a chalk-drawn 'board' and bottle caps filled with melted Crayola crayons.

Q. If you were given a plane ticket to anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Gina.  Florence, Italy. I lived there in my 20's. Spent my 40th birthday there alone and it was FANTASTIC. I'm ready to go back and experience Florence with Robert, the love of my life. 

Q. What work of art do you wish you owned?

Robert.  Van Gogh's self-portrait. I saw it at a wonderful exhibit in the Kimball Museum in Fort Worth, TX. I stood in front of that canvas for at least 20 minutes. The energy radiating from it was astounding.