The Wright Contemporary in Taos brings brightness to winter with bloom-inspired artworks in the exhibition Botanicals.
Botanicals
January 20–February 25, 2023
The Wright Contemporary, Taos
“Right after the holidays, as the reality of January sets in, we grit our teeth for the forthcoming cold hard winter months,” says Ann Landi, director of Taos gallery the Wright Contemporary. “So this seems the perfect time to offer up a show called Botanicals, originally slated to be an exhibition entirely of flowers until we realized how many artists focused on other interesting aspects of the plant world—like shoots and leaves and even imaginary blooms dedicated to the children of Ukraine.”
Photographers Robbie Steinbach and Carol Farmer revel in the sensual particulars of exotic plants, proving that the erotic potential pioneered by Georgia O’Keeffe lives on in contemporary interpretations. Confronted with the lushness of summer, Sheila Miles takes a childlike delight in nature’s plenitude, while Ward Estes brings a Matissean touch to simplified shapes and primary colors. Madison Cawein, the lone photorealist in the group, zeroes in on grasses touched with frost in early spring, and Michelle Cooke presents an archive of plant materials from New Mexico embossed on sheets of foil and gampi paper. Inspired by the Russian invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Sandra Filippucci produced a series of explosive canvases called Flowers for Ukraine, two of which occupy the main galleries at the Wright.
The Wright Contemporary is a new venture in Taos, featuring the best of the region in theme-driven shows, such as the recent exhibitions Explosive Abstraction, New Geometries, and Taos Draws!. Located just north of La Posta Road in Taos, the gallery also sponsors regular films, lectures, and panels. In the last few months, the Wright has played host to a symposium of art dealers, panels about managing artists’ estates and negotiating contracts, a lecture on the origins of Abstract Expressionism, and screenings of the documentaries Agnes Martin: Before the Grid, and Eva Hesse.
Visit the website to learn more. The gallery is open Wednesday–Sunday, 2-6 pm, with plenty of parking.
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