The International Guild of Realism (IGOR) will be showing the works of 94 of its 500 juried members, who in total represent 35 countries worldwide, in its 17th Annual Juried Exhibition.The exhibition, which runs June 2 through June 26, returns to Santa Fe, New Mexico’s Sugarman-Peterson Gallery, where the event was held in 2018.

Christopher Mooney, Cleveland Bridges, oil on canvas, 36 x 52"

“We are very excited to have them host our yearly gallery exhibition in 2023,” says founding member Don Clapper, noting that Sugarman-Peterson Gallery is centrally located in the heart of the Santa Fe Art District among many quality art galleries, shops and fine dining establishments. “We couldn’t have asked for a better time or location.”

Several art events will take place on June 1 for attending IGOR artists, followed by the opening reception on June 2 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., during which 13 awards and the winner of Best in Show will be announced. The following pages provide a glimpse into the quality and diversity of contemporary realism that will be on display in a beautiful gallery setting in the quintessential art mecca of Santa Fe.

Christopher Mooney hikes around bridges with his camera and steps off the sidewalks to get a different perspective of a city and its bridges. “The photos I use are references for me to create original oil paintings,” he says. “I enjoy building dramatic perspectives in my bridge paintings to deliver unusual points of view that render exciting realistic and abstract portrayals. With Cleveland Bridges, I was surprised and fascinated to see a bridge crossing over another bridge." 

Brenda Kidera, At Home in the Woods, oil on birch panel, 45 x 30"

Brenda Kidera’s At Home in the Woods depicts where she lives and works, and reflects her deep connection with nature. “This painting features my daughter, a frequent subject of my work, complementing the lush spring greens with her red top,” she says. “Dissecting and reorganizing the landscape with its chaos and visual noise was an exhausting yet gratifying task. The textural details and sparks of light weave their way through the painting intentionally.” Her hope is that viewers can imagine the fresh scents of the forest, sounds of the gurgling stream, birds singing and leaves rustling in the gentle breeze. 

A member since the founding of IGOR in 2002, Camille Engel has been accepted into every annual exhibition except one. Her two juried paintings are from her unique trompe l’oeil painting series, and include a touch of surrealism—hints to which can be found in her titles.

From left: J. Elaine Senack, Mallard Duckling, acrylic on panel, 9 x 12". Kenneth Young, Avery in Autumn, oil on canvas, 36 x 24"

“It has been one of the greatest honors of my career to be an IGOR member and exhibit among some of the world’s top realist artists," she says. "And I absolutely love the members.”

Since his return to art, Christopher Forrest’s focus has been coastal scenes with wildlife. “It’s an arena with infinite possibilities as to sky, water, shoreline, etc.,” he says. Let’s Be Friends features one of his favorite birds—terns—and a local, distressed bulkhead that he has painted many times. “Terns seem to hang together in harmony and take a break from fishing by relaxing on the piles,” Forrest notes. 

Camille Engel, Gone Fishing, oil on panel, 12 x 12"

Forrest enjoys a wide range of painting approaches from impressionism to hyperrealism but leans toward the latter. “Thus I so enjoy IGOR members’ paintings…I could throw a dart at the artist roster and find work that I’m in awe of. I felt really honored to be juried into membership and feel quite lucky to be included in the 17th annual show.” 

When Graeme Smallfield brought the red onions that became the subject matter of his juried piece home from a local farmers market, they propped each other up on his old wooden workbench. “The luminosity of the red, offset by the rustic string, immediately conjured up this image,” Smallfield says. “The onion skin took many layers of oils to get the translucence needed with hours of detailed brushwork creating the fine, rounded roots. It has been a real joy to enable others to see the absolute beauty such a humble, everyday vegetable can hold.”

Jette van der Lende, Glossy Fragum, oil on panel, 20 x 16"

J. Elaine Senack has always found creative inspiration in the beauty of the natural world. From the woodlands of New England to the mountains of Montana and the rocky coastline of Maine, the plants and wildlife she encounters provide the backdrop and subject matter for her art. Senack says, “In a world that is fast paced and often far removed from natural things, I aim to provide a peaceful reminder of the beautiful creatures with whom we share this earth.”

Jette van der Lende encountered the glossy ibis in her show piece Glossy Fragrum in Australia and was captivated by its dancer-like grace and beauty. “To underscore the purity and sensuality, I placed the ibis on a strawberry (Fragum in latin)—a symbol of purity and sensuality, fertility and abundance, humility and modesty,” shares the artist.

From left: Nugzari Novikoff, Seagulls, acrylic and oil on canvas, 20 x16"; Patsy Lindamood,  Old Star Drug Alleyway, graphite on cradled Ampersand Claybord, sealed with acrylic,  36 x 24"

With a passion for wildlife, Johanna Lerwick employs a high level of realism with mastered elements of light and shadow to depict her subjects in her oil paintings. “My oil paintings are a reflection of the spirit of the animal bringing out the emotions and mood through their eyes and expressions,” she says. “I strive to capture the beauty of each animal with the hope to visually convey why these amazing animals deserve to share and live in this world with us.”

Clockwise from top left: Lee Alban, Stay Close, oil on panel, 24 x 18"; Norma Najacht, Oh Puppy, oil on art panel, 16 x 24"; Lloyd Voges, Creeking Out Of The Shadows, oil on canvas, 20 x 16"; Tracey Chaykin, Colorful Eats, colored pencil on Pastelmat, 11 x 14"

Kenneth Young feels the clock of life ticking, and perhaps trying to capture its fleetingness through art can be a balm for the soul. This can be seen in his piece Avery in Autumn, which depicts his granddaughter. “There is something about watching children grow that especially makes this noticeable," Young shares. “Celebrating milestones in their lives. Seeing their personalities develop and change, watching them blossom…realizing it will not be long before they are adults. I remember my son when he was that age. This is now my granddaughter. Where did the time go? How much of it is left for me?”

Lee Alban frequently employs the use of figures to tell stories from the past. His recent Western paintings are no exception—saloon scenes, sheriffs preparing for trouble, a prairie family or travel by wagon. In the painting, Stay Close, a male and female rider are entering a stream with caution, perhaps anticipating the hazards of deeper water. “I wanted to do this scene for Mallory because her horse died about two weeks after this photo shoot,” Alban says. “Capturing their time together meant a great deal to her.”

Johanna Lerwick, Ready To Challenge, oil on linen, 30 x 30"

“The Lord has truly blessed Teresa and I with abundant beautiful landscapes here in Bosque County, Texas,” says artist Lloyd Voges. With several creeks and rivers to choose from, lately he has been drawn to Meridian Creek, near his ranch. “It inspired me to paint Creeking Out Of The Shadows, with all its shadow-play, allowing for such a variation of blue and yellow green in the movement of the water and shifts in values. The trees emerging from the shadows, with the light bouncing off the rocks, just beckoned me to paint this composition.”

Norma Najacht strives to capture the essence of the person or event she is painting. “I cannot adequately depict any aspect of the creation without the inspiration and guidance of the Creator,” she says. “When my grandson saw Puppy for the first time, he said, ‘Oh Puppy,’ over and over, alternately clasping him to his breast and looking into his eyes. I wanted to portray the strong emotional bond he had with Puppy from the moment he laid eyes on him.”

Christopher Forrest, Let’s Be Friends, oil on Raymar panel, 16 x 24"

“I like seagulls,” says Nugzari Novikoff. “They are smart, intelligent, funny and sometimes look angry.” The artist has spent a lot of time at the sea but never thought to paint seagulls, usually choosing to portray horses and dogs. “One day I was at the coast, and I fed some seagulls and saw their personalities—that was enough inspiration to paint them.," he says. “Sometimes they irritate you, like when they steal your last picnic sandwich; sometimes they fascinate you watching them cleverly open a trash container.”

Patsy Lindamood’s current artistic focus is discovering and preserving the iconic streetscapes and landscapes of the country through art. “These scenes are comprised of a broad range of values, populated with subjects which are consummate examples of strong lines and shapes,” Lindamood says. “When the visual language is reduced to just lines, shapes and values, the underlying story becomes more poignant, more arresting. Absent the romance of color, working in shades of gray is like telling a short story rather than writing a novel.”

Graeme Smallfield, Onions, oil on ACM board, 24½ x 32"

As an avid organic gardener, artist Tracey Chaykin couldn’t resist the brilliant colors of one of her summer harvests and arranging them in a rainbow pattern. Chaykin says, “The blue platter was the cherry on top and the perfect challenge for my pencils; layering and blending to get all those glorious tones—both beautiful and delicious!”  —

17th Annual International IGOR Juried Exhibition
When: June 2-26, 2023
Where: Sugarman-Peterson Gallery, 130 W. Palace Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Information: www.realismguild.com 

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