Featuring:
ELAINE COOMBS
CAROL BROWNING
THERESA DUCAYET CLOWES
CARA ENTELES
MONA RAY
DERRICK BREIDENTHAL

Opening: Friday, August 7, 2020 | 5-9 pm
On view through: Saturday, September 19, 2020

Looking curiously at the world around us inevitably sparks interconnection. In Walker Fine Art’s upcoming exhibition, six artists consider cognitive and emotional connections to their surroundings to create spontaneous interpretations of the natural world. Inspiration is found through pause and presence in their encompassing landscapes. Through independent journeys in mark-making, gestural painting, and sculptural construction, these creators find a COMMON GROUND through contemplation and appreciation of their environments.

As a child growing up in the country, some of ELAINE COOMBS’ happiest memories are laying in the grass under a tree in mid-summer, looking up at the sky, the sound of leaves rusting in the breeze. On a summer visit to Denver, Coombs carried out just that same activity from childhood. In her studio, she strives to create paintings with a bright, light-filled palette and an optimistic tone, with hopes that she might evoke similar positive feelings in the viewer.

Unlocking the sights, sounds and movement of nature significantly influence CAROL BROWNING’s art. By taking natural moments in time and creating a lyrical visual event, she hopes to evoke an emotional connection to the observer. Browning often thinks of her paintings as visual symphonies on canvas, an expression in mark-making and vibrant color that emphasize the rhythms of life.

THERESA DUCAYET CLOWES sculpts abstract landscapes with ephemeral fabric, discarded objects, translucent light, and opaque shadows. Clowes’ work explores symbiotic interconnection within the context of contrasts. By incorporating ideas about interconnection and juxtaposition through both material and concept, her work reveals the prospect for equilibrium. Her most recent work is driven by curiosity around the data and history of the Colorado River.

CARA ENTELES’ paintings are inspired by time spent in nature. The pieces in this exhibition reference specific landscapes seen while hiking. Back in the studio, the visual spaces are reimagined from sketches, photos and collected foliage samples. Her modern landscapes are a mix of oil painting and silkscreen printing that have the effect of moving with the light.

Close to Home, MONA RAY’s current series, emerges from the landscapes of her childhood in rural Wyoming, and current life in coastal California. Starting with brief sketches in the landscape, the remainder of Ray’s process is studio-based, where explorations and interpretations of initial observations develop gradually through layers of charcoal, acrylic, and oil. The final paintings preserve the evidence of this spontaneous and intuitive approach, a journey in marks and paint.

DERRICK BREIDENTHAL is drawn to the comparison of what he hopes for and what he knows to be true. Breidenthal pursues methods that enhance the perfection of a dream, as well as hold up to the roughness of reality. He uses abstraction tempered with realism to emphasize these inconsistencies; this combination creates a tension that drives his paintings.

An opening reception will be held on Friday, August 7, 2020, 5-9 pm at the gallery in the Prado building on 11th & Cherokee Streets in Denver’s Golden Triangle Museum District. The reception is free and open to the public, and the artists will be in attendance.

The exhibition is on view through Saturday, September 19, 2020 during regular gallery hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-5pm, or by appointment. For further information call 303-355-8955, email: [email protected], or visit: walkerfineart.com.
Walker Fine Art is a member of the Golden Triangle Museum District and the Denver Art Dealers Association. The gallery is located just blocks from the Denver Art Museum in the Prado building on 11th Avenue and Cherokee Street (entrance on Cherokee).