From the Feminine Perspective
“Havana Housing” by Moira Geoffrion
The fall season at Davis Dominguez Gallery opened late September with a showcase of various artistic mediums, created by women and aptly titled Focus – Five Women Artists.
Co-owners Mike Dominguez and Candice Davis explain how the all-woman exhibit came about. “Mike teaches at the Learning Curve,” Davis says, “and this year he is giving a lecture series on women artists, Beyond Georgia and Frida. That gave us the idea.” Dominguez adds that his lectures are about “how women have not gotten the spotlight like male counterparts.”
Davis Dominguez Gallery presented its first woman-only exhibit, Women’s Work, thirty five years ago, only three years after the gallery first opened. “The status of women artists has been changing since then,” says Dominguez.
The artists in this show are “all are accomplished, professional, and forceful artists,” says Dominguez. The exhibit includes pieces by sculptor Julia Andres, painter Moira Geoffrion, fiber artist Claire Park, painter Barbara Penn, and lithographer Kathryn Polk.
“We usually feature painters and sculptors,” adds Davis, “but this year we also invited Kathryn Polk. Her work is exceptional and remarkable.”
“92,955,807.273 mi” by Kathryn Polk
Polk is known for her unusual process of working from dark to light when creating her lithographs. “Most lithographers go light to dark,” she explains.
Imagery in her work is “based on the perspective of the woman looking out on the world – she’s the non-indigenous woman, the character who is the homogenized version of all the women in my family.”
Polk’s work, 92,955,807.273 mi, (“the distance from the sun,” said Polk), is also called Icarus. “I always put women in traditional men’s roles. A lot of things are from the man’s eyes. As an artist I take liberties and reinvent things through a woman’s perspective.”
A connection to her mother explains why Barbara Penn paints on pellon instead of on paper or canvas. Pellon is a heavier fabric that adds firmness to lighter-weight fabrics. “My mother taught me to sew,” says Penn. “My big paintings are a connection to my mother.” Penn is showing work related to seniors and aging. “These are my first paintings after my mother’s death.” Penn also addresses the creative process in her work for the exhibit. “If you don’t have the element of play, and if everything is analytical, you can’t get anything going. In the end, it involves a kind of letting go and giving over to the creative.”
Painter Moire Geoffrion’s first series of paintings in the exhibit is based on her recent trip to Cuba. She describes Cuba as “very stimulating for me as an artist…the paintings reflect the visual experience that I had when I was there.” The only other experience she’s had similar to Cuba, says Geoffrion, was in India. Both cultures have “layers of diverse types of people, the extremely rich and poor, an ancient culture juxtaposed with the modern.” Geoffrion’s second series involves “the idea of the desert community. Everything is drawn from what I see in the desert near where I live.” Like the Cuba paintings, Geoffrion says she is expressing “the juxtaposition of layerings of culture in communities.”
Fiber artist Claire Campbell Park is showing her Reflections series. “The intent of this series is to support our awareness of the holiness of life – to be an acclamation of peace, hope and faith in a world where these are easily lost; without dismissing the realities and severity of our struggles. I deeply believe in beauty. Beauty needn’t be easy.” Her golden weavings, including Joy are “inspired by reflections on a ‘Book of Hours,’ and a fresco by Fra Angelico which express quiet joy and unwavering faith.”
Beauty is also a theme for sculptor Julia Andres. She creates patina on bronze sculptures of fruits and vegetables, cacti, agave hearts, and other edibles. “I think fruits and vegetables are so beautiful, especially their colors. I’m a cook, and my grandfather was a Kansas farmer. The food of all cultures is so important.” Andres also incorporates haiku from Jack Kerouac in other pieces, as well as honoring the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.
“Ode to Arizona Citrus” by Julia Andres
The works exhibit through Nov. 2 at 154 E. 6th St. For information, visit DavisDominguez.com or call 629-9759.
Category: Arts, DOWNTOWN / UNIVERSITY / 4TH AVE
