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Ann Korologos Gallery presents Extravagant Dreams, a group exhibition showcasing the vibrant, impressionist, dream-like works of Rick Stevens, Diana Woods, Paula Schuette Kraemer, and Sabrina Stiles, on view January 7 to February 1, 2023 at Ann Korologos Gallery in Basalt, Colorado.
“Each artist moved to Colorado or New Mexico after a childhood in the mid-west, their work evoking mystery and awe, enchantment and joy, a reflection of their love for the land they adopted,” shares Sue Edmonds, director of Ann Korologos Gallery. “The style and subjects reflect the fresh, dynamic perspective of each artist. Our intention with Extravagant Dreams was to start the year with works that are luminous, fresh, uplifting, inspiring and healing.”
Rick Stevens is a New Mexico-based landscape artist whose vibrant works juxtapose shapes, patterns, colors and textures in unexpected ways. During his childhood in Michigan, Stevens developed his own affinity for forests, rivers, and wildlife, introduced to the artist by his father, a plein air painter. Stevens eventually moved west to New Mexico, the “Land of Enchantment,” and established a studio in Santa Fe. Spontaneity has always been a key concern. He seeks to transmit the feelings evoked by the landscape with immediacy and improvisation. He looks for ways to vary the elements, gestures, patterns or rhythms in his marks and textures.
Diana Woods is a painter and sculptor living in Western Colorado, inspired by her surroundings on the border of the Colorado National Monument. Originally from Nebraska, the stories and inspiration behind her work stem from her childhood memories spent on the back of a horse and listening to her grandfather’s tall tales of the Wild West with ‘Bruno the Bear’ as the savior. As a result, her work is full of narrative and allegorical imagery, illustrating the parallels between human experience and the natural world.
Paula Schuette Kraemer is Wisconsin- and Colorado-based printmaker working predominantly with drypoint monoprints and monotypes to capture special moments with wildlife and human experience. Her expressive style is reflected in the immediacy and spontaneity of drawing directly into a copper plate using a steel etching needle. Using symbolism and metaphor, the artist reflects her own life experiences facing grief and life’s uncertainties while celebrating the simple, but momentous, joys of life.
Sabrina Stiles is a Colorado-based pastel artist with an expressive style that lends itself to her chosen medium. Primarily a landscape artist, Stiles prefers to work en plein air and draws inspiration from softer light and feminine expression. Her keen observation and reverence for the beauty that surrounds her is evident in her work. Pastel has held her focus, though she often layers pastel over oil to take advantage of her favorite qualities of both mediums. Of her experimentation and career changes, she explains, “if you want to get anywhere, you have to be fearless.”
Extravagant Dreams is on view at Ann Korologos Gallery from January 7 to February 1, 2023. View the exhibition at 211 Midland Avenue, Basalt, CO or on korologosgallery.com.
