While thoroughly grounded in realism, the oil paintings of Rick Stevens are also decidedly illustrative. He captures scenes and moments of the natural world—aspens dappled with sunlight, a stream trickling through a forest, brush and bramble winding around trees—with an abstract, painterly touch.
A Place to Pause, oil, 24 x 24 in.
“For most of my career I’ve had two parallel directions in style, which sometimes meet somewhere in the middle. I’ve accepted that I need to simultaneously work both representationally and abstractly,” Stevens says. “Having an abstract painter’s eye when I’m painting landscapes helps me in maintaining a freedom from the ‘rules,’ those that you first learn and then break. Keeping a landscape painter’s eye when painting abstract imagery helps me in ways that I can manipulate space, and references to natural phenomena come intuitively after decades of depicting the landscape.”
Dappled Light Autumn Grove, oil, 67 x 36 in.
Stevens will be showing a new body of work at Kay Contemporary Art in Santa Fe from July 17 to 30. “The artist layers abstract mark-making with graceful paint gestures to describe the spiritual essence of the forest,” comments gallery owner Karla Kay Winterowd. “His immersive woodland imagery offers a way in and through, a profound discovery for the eye and mind.”
A majority of the pieces featured in the upcoming show depict scenes of the Sangre de Cristos, the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains, which are filled with aspen groves. “For me, the forest is both subject and teacher,” says Stevens, who frequently spends time outdoors.
Raking Shadows Silent Drama, oil, 54 x 36 in.
“I often revisit spots over and over and cultivate a familiar intimacy with them. It strengthens visual memory, but more importantly there’s a heart-connection that really drives the inspiration for making art whether I’m depicting that particular scene or not,” he continues. “I don’t often choose to paint the iconic Southwestern vistas most often associated with the region, but more intimate forest scenes found in the mountains…I strive to cultivate the art making process as a spiritual focus. When I feel those things are in balance, I find my studio time grounding and forever challenging.”
Enveloped in Green, oil, 32 x 48 in.
The exhibition, titled The Way In, will open with an artist reception on Friday, July 17, from 5 to 7 p.m. Around 20 new works will be on display. —
Kay Contemporary Art 600 Canyon Road Santa Fe, NM 87501 • (505) 365-3992 • www.kaycontemporaryart.com
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