Reception: Joan Fenicle: In Praise of Clouds

On view: April 29–May 25, 2025
Public reception: May 17, 1:00–3:00pm

The public is invited to a reception at Wild Hearts Gallery in Placitas on May 17, to meet Joan Fenicle and talk about her paintings. Visit the website to view a virtual tour of the gallery at www.wildheartsgallery.com.

With both feet planted firmly in the landscapes of Colorado and New Mexico, a recurring theme in her work, Fenicle has always had her head in the clouds – that portal between earth and heaven where immortals might exist, where one can travel between realms of reality with just a little imagination. Clouds represent the fleeting nature of our existence and this exhibit is a tribute to them – painted in oil on canvas and mounted on birch panel.

Fenicle is a multi-media artist and a product of the west that she loves. She was a free-range child, growing up in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado where her mother and grandmother were born in the high mountain mining camps. Her father’s people were in this country before the Revolutionary War but came west, some in search of gold, some in search of adventure. She has called New Mexico home since the 1970s. She loves to wander the backroads in search of stories and images. Wandering is in her soul.

“In praise of clouds, let us all find a patch of grass, lie back and watch rabbits munching on pansies in the sky. Anything is possible.”

Wild Hearts Gallery is an artists’ collective, supported by 15 local artists. Located at 221-B State Highway 165, the gallery is open Tuesday-Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Saturday-Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Take a visual tour of monthly exhibits in the gallery at wildheartsgallery.com.