One of the things we pride ourselves on at Blue Rain Gallery is bringing art lovers the highest quality work from a diverse group of artists working in an unlimited range of mediums. Our Spanish Market events this year punctuate the month of July like the brightest stars in a summer night’s sky. On July 7th, we open a two-woman exhibition featuring the fascinating work of artists Natalia Anciso and Andrea Vargas.
Natalia Anciso, an Oakland based artist, presents her unique perspective on the borderlands of the Rio Grande Valley, South Texas and Northern Mexico, where she grew up. It’s a land of harsh contrasts—not only geographically but also culturally. Anciso captures the beauty, the pain, and the passion of the land and its people through dramatic visual narratives produced with graphite and colored pencil on paper. Monochromatic vignettes of human experiences inspired by news stories of drug trade violence and hard-scrabble survival are entwined in boldly hued depictions of indigenous wildflowers. The flowers in these powerful works of art symbolize life and death in the region and are informed by the revolutionary Mexican proverb, “Quisieron enterrarnos, pero se les olvido que somos semillas/They tried to bury us, but they forgot we were seeds.”
Santa Fe artist Andrea Isabel Vargas grew up on the California coast surrounded by bold public murals and immersed in a rich and diverse cultural and political history. She now travels between coastal cities and desert landscapes producing artwork and installations that reflect her transformative interpretations of land and life. Vargas’s recent series, titled “Metamorphosis,” focuses on her belief that “art has the capacity to elevate the human condition.” Each artwork radiantly elucidates the “resilient and tender” qualities inherent in the human body. Using energetic, gestural strokes of stark black and cadmium red pastel pigment on smooth cold-pressed paper, the artist sends viewers a strong cohesive message. The collection, all titled in Spanish, evokes the strength and passion of an exceptional artistic voice.
Both Natalia Anciso and Andrea Isabel Vargas have received substantial national and international recognition and many of their artworks have been included in museum and private collections. Each brings a fresh new passion and purpose to their craft. and an exhilarating vitality to the summer season!
