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Aleta Pippin, Santa Fe abstract artist at Pippin ContemporaryAleta Pippin’s solo exhibition, “Landscapes of the Mind” opens on Friday, July 5th with a new body of work that represents subconscious emotion in response to nature and physical environments. For Pippin, it’s the clear light, deep blue skies, long views and majestic mountains of the desert – from her childhood memories in Southern California to her adult life in Santa Fe – that stir her passion, influence her emotions and fuel her paintings.

In her latest work, Aleta Pippin describes the landscapes of her life with warm color, rugged texture and abstract mark making – an artist’s emotional impression of breath-taking sunsets, impressive mountains and desert flora. In addition to outward environments, Aleta Pippin’s exhibition paintings also symbolize internal landscapes as bursts of movement and variations of color relate to personal growth, influential relationships or followed dreams. In this way, Aleta Pippin aims to connect with the viewer on an emotional level while reflecting on her own journey.

“The title of my exhibition is a metaphor for each of our life journeys, decisions made, dreams won and lost, love, health, joy – life. As such, the paintings will no doubt be interpreted by each viewer’s perception, choices, decisions, and overview of their own life.”

Below, Aleta Pippin provides insights behind her new paintings for “Landscapes of the Mind” in how they relate to the energy, color and emotional impact of nature.

The Portal by Aleta Pippin at Pippin ContemporaryThrough The Portal, oil on panel, 60″ x 24″

“The colors in this painting can be found in the rich blue of desert skies, rose and pinks of sunsets and blooming cacti, yellow represents the vibrant warm sun that heats the environment. One can imagine diving through the portal (light pink moving into the yellow almost in the middle of the painting) and swimming around in the rich color, enjoying the texture, searching behind the forms, so much to observe in this painting.”

 

Intertwined by Aleta Pippin at Pippin ContemporaryIntertwined, oil on panel, 48″ x 48″

“This painting moves away from my very abstracted work by giving you well-defined forms resembling flowers. I kept the major portion of the pallet in purples and grays purposely to draw your attention to the light magenta emanating from behind the flowers, with an alizarin yellow, and teal and red pops of color.”

Movement in Color by Aleta Pippin at Pippin ContemporaryMovement in Color, oil on canvas, 36″ x 60″

“To me, this painting is purely abstract – it’s all about color and energy. I blossom in a more arid climate and this painting represents that energy. The colors are the rich hues of the desert and the movement of strong wind whipping bushes and palm fronds about.”

Click here to view more paintings by Aleta Pippin

Aleta Pippin is constantly evolving her creative practice. Over the course of her career the Santa Fe artist has poured, brushed and scraped; she’s worked with oil, acrylic and mixed media as well as canvas, aluminum and panel surfaces. Pippin is even known to incorporate digital and new media components into her paintings. “I continue to experiment which is key for my creative muse,” she says. “New ideas are continually born, some finding their way into new work.” Unchanging in Pippin’s process, however, is her commitment to color and the emotional effect it can have on the human psyche. “Color is my driving force,” she states.

Dreamland III by Aleta Pippin

While impressions from Pippin’s early life would become a key inspiration for her artistic career, she didn’t begin painting until 1992 upon moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Influenced by Santa Fe’s creative culture, she began taking classes and experimenting with various media and painting styles until honing in on acrylic and oils. In 2003 Pippin fully committed herself to her art, which she considered to be her third career after building a business and raising a family. “My passion for painting became realized when it bloomed into a full-time career,” Pippin explains. “I improved my technique and found my voice – becoming an abstract painter.”

Trip Through the Cosmos by Aleta Pippin

Pippin’s July exhibition, “Here We Go Round in Circles,” is indicative of her commitment to creative exploration as well as her early and ongoing passion for painting in oils – the medium she always returns to even when continuously exploring other avenues. Her love of color, as always, is consistent throughout the exhibition. Her spontaneous nature and personal life impressions also remain constant across this body of work. “I do not plan the images,” she explains. “They are intuitive interactions created by life experience, accessing my broader knowledge. The impressions of my childhood environment express themselves in my paintings. They show up as color, freedom and energetic movement.”

Aglow I by Aleta Pippin

Pippin’s return to oil – her original inspiration for pursuing a career as an artist – is represented in pieces like “Joy Spreads,” “Carried by the Wind” and “Summertime, Sunrise.” Circular paintings such as “Trip Through the Cosmos” illustrate Pippin’s current explorations painting in the round. For these pieces, Pippin uses a variety of tools including her hands or a spinner to move paint across the panel. The panels are painted with colored resin, which incorporates acrylic or oil paint, and are often embellished with copper leaf or gold leaf details. “Resin is an interesting medium,” says the artist and gallery owner. “It accentuates the surface yet is a visual block to the viewer. In a way it says come closer, but not too close.”

Here We Go Round in Circles I by Aleta Pippin

Other mixed media pieces in the show are created using this process including “Fracture II” and “Through the Portal.” Here We Go Round in Circles opens with an artist reception on Friday, July 6th from 5-7pm. Click here to preview Pippin’s work in the online exhibition catalog.

 

Rebecca Haines, Paint OutThis weekend is the Canyon Road Paint & Sculpt Out, a lively event where artists demonstrate their creative process along historic Canyon Road. Artists bring paint, clay, fire, glass, easels and more to this event, and give visitors an interactive art experience as they involve onlookers with their process. Autumn is a beautiful time of year in Santa Fe with sunny blue skies and crisp mountain air, providing a brilliant backdrop for the event.

Alongside the visual artists, music students from Santa Fe public schools will perform from 1-3pm, and a parade of all 500 performers will take place at noon. Choirs, string ensembles, bands and more will participate in what is a highly anticipated event for the students.

This year at Pippin Contemporary, Cody Hooper, Gina Rossi, and Rebecca Haines will participate in the Paint & Sculpt Out. Watch Cody’s light-infused abstracts take form through his layering and blending process; see Gina’s cloud and mountainscapes evoke the magic of a Santa Fe sunset; and witness the soft personalities of wild animals come to life in Rebecca’s contemporary wildlife paintings.

Cody Hooper, Paint Out

Gina Rossi, Paint Out

Join us on Friday evening 5-7pm to kick off the weekend with Aleta Pippin’s exhibition, For the Love of Color. The vibration of color in Aleta’s new work will energize your evening and lift your spirits as you experience the freedom and passion imbued in each piece.

Aleta Pippin, Santa Fe abstract painterThis October, an explosion of color will enliven the gallery with Aleta Pippin’s exhibition For the Love of Color. The show will run from October 12th through October 26th, with an opening reception on Friday, October 14th, kicking off the weekend of the Canyon Road Paint & Sculpt Out.

For this exhibition, Pippin is exploring new imagery within abstraction using both acrylics and oils. Vivid color continues to be central to her artistic expression with painting palettes that vary from soft mingling hues to strong contrasting colors. Swirling movement and flames of soft color rise up the canvas in Radiance, a 60×36” oil painting, while energizing motion and layers of striking hues vibrate against each other in Color Burst, a 36×36” oil on canvas.

Pippin’s intuitive painting style allows her to freely express her personal visions through abstract art. “My goal with every painting is to impart an internal expression that flows freely through me,” says Pippin. “It’s basically a narrative inspired by the paint.”

Color Burst by Santa Fe artist Aleta PippinColor Burst by Aleta Pippin

Pippin is also revisiting pouring the paint, a technique she explored many years ago in her career. Feeling drawn to the free flowing movement of the paint and the ambiguity of the outcome, Pippin is now approaching the process with a broader skill set and renewed vision. New poured pieces will be on display for the exhibition including Magenta Pour,  48 x 48”, oil. Pippin says of this piece:

“In 2003 through 2005 I used the process of pouring the color. I liked the large splashes and serendipitous events occurring through the use of this process. All of those paintings were done using acrylics; I’d never tried it with oils. So in revisiting the technique, I decided to do some of the paintings using oils. I loved what happened. The color melded together differently than acrylics. I plan on continuing to fine-tune this process.”

Magenta Pour by Aleta Pippin, Santa Fe artistMagenta Pour by Aleta Pippin

Read Aleta Pippin: For the Love of Color full press release and browse the exhibition catalog. You can also view new inventory on Pippin’s artist page. We look forward to seeing you at the opening reception on October 14th, 5-7pm.

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Join Pippin Contemporary for ARTfeast

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” ~ Ernest Hemingway

“Holiday Flair” by Aleta Pippin

It’s not uncommon to hear visitors compare Santa Fe to a village in Europe, especially in the quiet of winter. We’re a town with a central square, charming architectural unity and a friendly personality. For a few hours this Friday though, the streets of our little hamlet will host a scene more befitting of the City of Lights. The Edible Art Tour (EAT) is Santa Fe’s own moveable feast, and Pippin Contemporary is preparing to bring on the metropolitan glitz.

EAT is the most popular event of ARTfeast weekend, a fundraiser for local nonprofit ARTsmart. The organization, founded in 1993, aims to connect Santa Fe’s strong art community with Santa Fe public schools. Through 2012, ARTsmart had distributed over $1,000,000 for outreach efforts, endowment funds and art supply donations to schools.

For this year’s EAT, Pippin Contemporary and 34 other galleries around Santa Fe have teamed up with stellar local restaurants for a night of fine dining and art watching. Pippin is hosting award winning African themed restaurant Jambo Cafe, and we’ll be pairing their bold flavors with bright canvases and glowing sculptures from all of our stellar artists.

Just make sure to pause for a moment and relish our offerings. A moveable feast is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace!