Paper | Stone | Wood – Sculpture by Jacqueline Mallegni

"Full-Moon-Boat" wood, paper, encaustic

The gallery is pleased to welcome guest artist, Jacqueline Mallegni.

Jacqueline is an award-winning artist whose sculptures embody balance and simplicity, minimalism and beauty. Sculpture reminiscent of boat and suspended cocoon forms constructed from Japanese-style handmade paper along with natural materials such as tamarisk, rattan, olive woods and alabaster evoke calm and introspection.

Her decades-long immersion into the philosophies of simplicity, humility and the appreciation of non-permanence found in nature have guided her toward a deeper relationship with the materials used in her art work. “Working with natural materials opens my eyes to a way of seeing the world around me, affirms my intuition and belief that it is possible to integrate art as a way of being and
encourages my development of focus and intent, infusing it with subtlety and fluidity.”

Paper | Stone | Wood will be exhibited from November 5 through December 3 with an opening reception on Saturday, November 5 from 4-7 pm.

Art and Nature

Abiqui at Sunset -- photo courtesy of Clay Allison

"In the Rain" Steel Painting by Destiny Allison

Since Destiny has been out of commission with an injured back, she’s been thinking too much.  This is not necessarily a good thing!  Recently, she asked staff at the gallery whether or not one needs art if one is constantly surrounded by nature.  Its an interesting question and one an artist should probably not be asking but we wanted to put it out there.  Some thoughts on the question are as follows:

— Because nature is always changing, it does not give rise to the same level of contemplation as a good work of art does.  Fine art gives us the ability to come back to it again and again from different places in our own lives and that gives us the opportunity to discover more about ourselves — Steve

— When we are immersed in nature all the time, we crave it.  The same may be true for art.  If we are always surrounded by nature, it would make sense that we would then crave art and other things nature does not provide — Steve

— Art is that which nature, by itself, can not make — Destiny

What are your thoughts?  We would love to hear them.

California Trip

The weekend trip to California to install 5 pieces of Destiny’s art was a whirlwind.  Beautiful country, beautiful homes, great people and just a little bit of exhaustion after 17 hours driving out and flying back yesterday morning.  Here are some photos:

Along the highway

 

Steel wall sculptures grace the front door

 

Destiny's finance, Steve, is still smiling even after doing all the lifting to spare Destiny's bad back

 

Zen... The steel painting above the Buddha makes a space for quiet contemplation.

 

Installing the art and watching the game. Casual and fun.

Runner Up

Destiny's sketch of a life size metal sculpture for the Los Alamos Justice Center competition

Yesterday, Destiny made her final presentation to the Los Alamos County Art in Public Places board for her proposal for the Justice Center sculpture.  In the end, the board decided to award the commission to Troy Williams.  Destiny was a close runner up.  It was an interesting process and nice to see a public art board make a decision that made sense.  Though Destiny hates to admit it, the board made the right choice for the project.

Troy’s concept was good and he taught Destiny a lot.  He remembered to include the community in his concept.  Instead of a juror’s box, Troy suggested that the base of the sculpture be an elongated scale — the ends of which could be used as benches for the public.  His design was simpler.  It will require less maintenance because his coloring is just natural rust.  In addition, he will be using actual members of the Los Alamos community as models for his jurors.  He won the competition fair and square and Destiny learned that art in public places is as much about the art as it is about the public who will interact with it.  Congratulations to Troy and thanks for the lesson.  Destiny will know better next time.

Working on Commissions

Destiny drove down to Tucson this weekend to meet with some clients about a commission sculpture for their new cactus garden and threw her back out loading the car!  Its a terrible time for a bad back.  There are now 6 outstanding commissions due in the next couple of months and there are three galleries that need new work desperately.  We’re grateful for how busy it is and a little nervous about how fast her back will heal.  Here is one of the commissions she is working on for some local clients:

This is a rough out of the sculpture based on the sketch. When finished, it will measure 100" h x 31" w.

Here are some of her site specific metal sculptures and metal wall art that are already completed.

Judy’s work looks amazing in the Gallery

The opening for Judy Poldi’s show, “Woven” was crazy.  Because of the benefit at La Tienda, there were people through the gallery all day and we were very tired at the end of it.  We’re so happy to have Judy’s work here.  It is bold and dynamic and creates a wonderful environment for contemplation.  Destiny’s quiet, introspective steel art is perfectly complimented by Judy’s abstract paintings and the art works are remarkably powerful in conjunction with each other.  This show is truly fine art.

Opening Reception for “Woven” August 27 from 4 – 7 pm

Painting by Judy Poldi

Destiny Allison Fine Art welcomes guest artist, Judy Poldi.  The opening reception for her show, “Woven” will be on August 27 from 4 – 7 pm.   We’re excited to have Judy’s work in the gallery.  The dialog between her abstract paintings and Destiny’s steel paintings will be fascinating and dynamic.  We hope you can join us for this event. For more information about Judy and her work, click here.