“Imagined Landscapes” is the perfect title for Nanette Shapiro’s new show at 7Arts Gallery, which opens on February 2 and features more than a dozen mixed media works on paper. Shapiro’s process involves closing her eyes and drawing whatever images emerge from her subconscious.
“I’m inspired by magical realism in literature,” she adds.
Shapiro is a new Santa Fe resident. In September, after three years of spending part of the year in Santa Fe, she finally moved from upstate New York, in the Woodstock area, to live here on a full-time basis.
“My colors have shifted since moving here,” she explains. “I see a lot more burnt orange, and all levels of that color from tinged white to deep colors, as well as lavender and turquoise in my recent work.”
An avid traveler who has climbed mountains in the Himalayas and spent time in China and Central and South America, Shapiro has always seen references to mountains and the sky in her art. Living in Santa Fe means being in touch with mountains and the sky in a different way.
Texture is an important aspect of Shapiro’s work. She applies pastels, cold wax, graphite and colored pencil to highly sanded paper to create depth and luminosity.
“I ask myself questions like ‘how does light inform color with an extra and uneven surface of sand’ and ‘what happens when I press in color, scratch, erase fully or partially, or scumble over the sandpaper,’” she says. “I create marks utilizing stamps, screens, pointillism, dashes, crosshatches, long and short lines and thickness and lightness of pigment.”
Shapiro offers two free workshops focused on her drawing techniques at the gallery from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on February 10 and 17. To reserve a spot, call 518.522.8744.
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