This has been a rare adventure over the last six years to publish The Art Avenue magazine, the only art and culture magazine in the border and establish The Art Avenue Gallery, a contemporary art gallery nestled in a burgeoning arts hamlet downtown showcasing artists from around the Borderplex.
As rare as the adventure was, the time has come to end this avenue and pursue another. The magazine (established in 2013) and gallery (2015) were created in an effort to promote artists and share in the art and cultural projects and issues throughout the region. It has been a privilege exhibiting works from hundreds of artists working in paintings, prints, sculptures, digital photography, poetry and jewelry, always with a focus on proving insight into the diverse cultural landscape that is the Borderland. Surrounded by local artists’ studios, The Art Avenue Gallery also served as a gathering place for neighborhood creatives and makers, hosting coordinated artist workshops and art camps for children to effectively break down the wall between the public and local artists.
The online publication, The Art Avenue will shut down later this year and the gallery will close at the end of the month with a sale of beautiful works from local artists, however I will continue to support the local art scene by cultivating private art collections and showcasing works though the windows in The Mills building in Downtown El Paso. I am continually amazed at the exceptional talents within our region and how oftentimes they go unnoticed. I hope I was able to etch away at the ideology that only great art works exist in metropolitan cities like Santa Fe and New York.
Impacting the art community was a vision supported by the tireless efforts of one of my closest friends and Creative Director, Jorge Calleja. His graphic design skills elevated the publication and gallery pushing an edgy contemporary style, showing color and design that was fresh and forward in the community. For this I am most grateful for the tireless hours he invested. I would also like to thank the many interns who supported The Art Avenue and have gone on to jobs in Germany, Dallas, New York and are prospering in the Borderplex making their own personal stamp in the art world.
An archive of our past posts and publications can be accessed via our archive page.
It’s often said that people should evolve and not revolve if they want to be successful in any aspect of their life. It would be safe to say that Rhonda Doré, as an artist, emulates evolution with her emerging painting displayed in thick layered collages to advancements in watercolor pieces and spiritual influenced paintings. Her last two collections, Sighs Too Deep and The Skies show a softer side of work, almost evoking a sense of serenity. Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek had an opportunity to speak with Doré and shares a few clips from their conversation.
KRV: This is a new collection, what inspired you to create these pieces?
RD: I was literally painting without thought when I made the first of them. Just moving the brush. Just going with intuition. When a painter is really engaged in the work, it’s not quite clear where things come from. The clouds, for example, on Arch of Heaven. They just … arrived. There are elements in these pieces that remind me of comets and stars, a great whirling universe.
Arch of Heaven, 2018
When you paint in the abstract, there’s always an element of stepping off a cliff. If I’m painting a watercolor of a lemon tart it’s not like that. There’s a point of reference. We all know what a tart looks like. You can tell as you move on how close you’re getting. Abstract painting is like leaping off without a net. It’s harder to know where you’re going, but eventually you arrive. Something is at work that’s impossible to fully explain.
Lemon Tart, 2017
KRV: Did you find yourself using colors or techniques you haven’t worked with in the past? If so, how did that feel? If not tell me what seems to be your method of work that is successful with you.
RD: These are not new colors or techniques for me. Somewhat the opposite because I’ve returned to more collage in my work, and returned to more color. My last series was very pale and quiet. My process is still much the same: cover up the dreaded white canvas, then see where the brushstrokes take me.
Psalter, 2017
KRV: Are you familiar with the title of the show Incipere and its meaning? How does that resonate with you?
RD: I had to look that one up. I wasn’t familiar with it, but it means beginning. Since the beginnings of all my abstract paintings are literally to take a brush in hand and just go… it feels like a good word for the show.
Turkish Night, 2018
KRV: Where would you like your artwork to hang?
RD: I see these pieces hanging in a place where people have time to get lost in them. In a spa, where your mind and body relax. Above a bed in a very quiet bedroom. On a big wall in an entry, where you set a tone for the rest of a home. Mostly in a room that invites contemplation. Even though they’re contemporary, I’d love to see what they look like in a pale room with graceful Louis XIV chairs.
KRV: Whose artwork are you currently intrigued by?
RD: There are these exquisitely beautiful panels painted by Odilon Redon in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris, and I can’t get over them. They’re florals, but not what you’d expect. They’re whisper-soft but with areas of intense color, and in some places you can see the linen showing through. I’ve seen them in person twice. He painted them as decorative panels for a chateau dining room in 1900-1901. He used all kinds of media on them, including oil and pastel. When the family went broke years later, the French government took them for partial tax payment, and about 8 of them are in the museum. They’re just stunning up close.
Rhonda Doré’s work is currently on display at The Art Avenue Gallery through May 31, 2018
Technology, nature and religion were the topic of conversation at the recent exhibition of works by Mitsu Overstreet and Tim Razo at The Art Avenue Gallery.
Graphic designers by nature Overstreet and Razo have been friends for more than 15 years and decided to exhibit together this fall with Ki 気,
From Left to Right: Mitsu Overstreet, Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek and Tim Razo
“Overstreet and Razo had ongoing conversations on how religion, nature and technology overlap and the result of that is Ki 気, which is the Japanese word for air; atmosphere; flavor; heart; mind; spirit; feelings; humor; an intention; mind; will . In this body of work you see that faith combined with applied science push the traditional values of modern art,” said Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek, owner, The Art Avenue Gallery.
In his premiere exhibition Overstreet breaks through the stringent world of graphic design and shares his buddhist beliefs through his latest works in mixed media. “Throughout my career as designer and public artist, I’ve noticed a common thread in how I create things. This thread led me back to the my Buddhist upbringing and to a genre of Buddhist art from Edo Period Japan. This project is my first step in communicating visually my exploration in these topics,” said Overstreet.
Razo, no stranger to the art world, juxtaposed technology and nature in his pieces with language and symbols out of vegetation. “I am also using animals and our natural surroundings as part of that languages, punctuation and grammar. In my mind this language becomes a type of ambient technology used to express the unknown or subconscious,” said Razo.
Ki 気 will be on display through December 27, 2017.
The Art Avenue Gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., at 1618 Texas Ave. Suite E. For additional information or questions, please email info@theartave.com or call 915.213.4318.
El Paso, TX – The annual Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts Show is happening on November 18 and 19 at the spacious EPIC RAILYARD Event Center on 2201 East Mills Avenue in downtown El Paso, TX (located off I-10). The show runs from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, November 18, and 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday, November 19. Admission is $7 and free for children under 18. Valet parking is free.
The perfect kick off to the holiday shopping season, the Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts Show features beautiful, one-of-a-kind paintings, prints, ceramics, glass, jewelry, metal, leather, wood, wearable art and more in all prices. Attendees can meet established and emerging artists and students, talk to them about their work, and shop for high quality art and fine craft. And every sale made at the show contributes to the livelihood of artists and craftsmen – many of whom are local small businesses.
The quality of the work in the show is exceptional. Ninety artists and craftsmen from El Paso, New Mexico and other parts of the country are participating and all have met Las Artistas’ jury standards for technical proficiency, originality, and creative vision. Three years ago, Las Artistas introduced an emerging artists section in the show; this year the number of emerging artists has grown, and will include the work of children and relatives of Las Artistas members. Students in the Metals and Ceramics programs at the University of Texas at El Paso are also selling their work at the show.
New this year is the participation of the It’s Your World recycled arts program, under the direction of El Dorado High School art teacher Candie Printz. Motivated to take on a project that would improve their community and promote the importance of recycling, Candie and her students have been cleaning up part of the local desert and using the collected items to make art. She and her students will be selling their art at the Las Artistas show.
Classical and Flamenco guitarist Jake Mossman will be performing at the show on Saturday from noon to 4 pm. Jake has performed in theatres throughout the southwest, and has accompanied renowned Flamenco dancers and singers. Gourmet street food will be provided by The Grub Thai Food, Megalicious, and High Mesa Kettle Korn, and there will be a cash wine bar provided by Wine Attitude.
The Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts Show is sponsored by Ruhmann Law, with support from the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department.
Get a first look of the show at the Preview Party on Friday, November 17
Las Artistas is hosting a Preview Party on Friday, November 17 from 6 pm to 8 pm in the Circa 1963 Room at the Hotel Indigo on 325 North Kansas Street in El Paso (located just minutes away from the EPIC RAILYARD Event Center). For a cost of $15 – which also includes one-day admission to the show – attendees can mingle with artists, craftsmen, and like-minded people and see a preview of work that will be in the show. Light appetizers will be served and a cash bar is available. This event is sponsored by Margie Melby, one of Las Artistas’ founding members, and tickets are available at lasartistas.org.
About Las Artistas
Founded in 1970, Las Artistas has grown from a small group of enterprising El Paso women artists seeking a venue for their work, to one of the premiere arts organizations in El Paso and Southern New Mexico. For more information about the Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts Show or Las Artistas, contact Pam Sullivan at (915) 319-4541, email marketing@lasartistas.org, or visit lasartistas.org.
Photographs courtesy of: Heriberto Ibarra and Jireh Valdez
Sirous Partovi’s opening exhibit Intimate Landscape revealed a personal perspective through a digital photographic exhibition. Supporters recently turned out for an intimate evening gathering around Partovi’s black and white photographs expressing his emotions regarding his wife’s HIV status and documenting his journey. Partovi spoke to the group revealing the process that completed this exhibition where he juxtaposed landscapes and images of his wife’s body into triptych pieces. Intimate Landscape and Bodyscape will be on display through the end of the year. An artist talk is schedule for November 14 at 6:00 p.m. at The Art Avenue Gallery. Guest will have an opportunity to learn about his journey and his process.
What was once considered a taboo subject matter is revealed in an emotional photographic exhibition at The Art Avenue Gallery in El Paso, Texas with the images receiving an award from Rangefinder Magazine.
Emergency Room Physician Sirous Partrovi’s life changed the day his wife Patti Wetzel, also a physician at the time, was struck with a needle from a patient infected with HIV. He wasn’t sure how the future would play out for them, so he turned to photography as a catalyst to channel his emotions. Many years and 30,000 images later, he was able to successfully direct his feelings into the Intimate Landscape & Bodyscape Series—a collective of images from travels around the world incorporating photographs of his wife’s body.
You get quite personal in this exhibit…is this the first time sharing YOUR story to the public? At the time of Patti’s needle-stick, she was running the inpatient AIDS unit at the county hospital in Fort Worth. This was during the AIDS epidemic when the disease was shrouded in secrecy and there was much fear in general public. So, shortly after we learned about Patti’s diagnosis, SHE told her story publicly. It was her way to de-stigmatize the disease.
A few years ago I began contemplating a photography project that would help me explore my feelings surrounding Patti’s diagnosis and my reaction to it. At the time, I had no idea where this would lead but Patti was very supportive although unknowing that it would ultimately involve photos of her body. More recently, when the nature of the project declared itself, she was increasingly supportive of the work, of literally being a part of the photographs and of the “breakthrough.”
Untitled #17 (From the series Intimate Landscapes), Archival Pigment Print, 16″ x 36″
Untitled #5 (From the series Intimate Landscape), Archival Pigment Print, 16″ x 54″
How did you endure the tough times? By going to work as an ER physician. When you deal with your patient’s lives being cut short on a daily basis you develop an appreciation of your own situation. I’d tell myself that Patti is still here and that I can still love her. I also believe in psychotherapy and the power of therapeutic medications. I have had my share of uncertainty and depression, but thanks to the support of family and friends and the professionals that I trusted, I pulled out of it.
You mentioned you have been working on this body of work for five years…how did it come together? Did you foresee this body of work or did it just evolve? Although I had a vague idea of this project several years ago, it was not until I took a workshop with Susan Bernstein that I realized I was completely unable to articulate the concept. This workshop was actually a week-long psychotherapy session in which we all took a deep look at the kind of work that we wanted to produce and how that could be accomplished. Susan gave each of us our own word to ponder every time we pressed the shutter and even though she pushed me to choose between the words together and isolated, much to my surprise, after speaking of loneliness and depression when sharing my project idea, I chose the word “together” for me. This seemed totally incongruous with the way that I was feeling but planted a seed in my subconscious.
During my trip to Iceland, the stark landscape and the photos that I took all seemed to resonate with isolation and further reinforce my loneliness. But shortly after that trip while on vacation with Patti, her naked and sleeping body conjured up some of the same images that I found so beautiful and haunting in my Iceland series. That was my “a ha” moment and the idea of incorporating Patti into images that were stark yet sensual and that mirrored the landscapes I loved from Iceland and White Sands was the inception of the Bodyscape series.
Artist Sirous Partovi, taken by Heriberto Ibarra
You were just awarded Runner-Up in Rangefinder’s “The Body” photography contest in the Amateur, Fine Arts division with your Intimate Landscape & Bodyscape collections—that must be extremely fulfilling, especially knowing the backstory of this series. It is nice to be recognized by the people in the world of professional photography. I used photographs to tell my story and I’m pleased that it has touched other people and has brought this work some attention.
Untitled #7 (From the series Bodyscapes), Archival Pigment Print, 16″ x 36″
Why did you become an artist? I remember that as a child growing up in Iran, I loved to draw and make collages from torn pages of magazines. I was attracted to form and structure. And as much as I prized these values, I was pushed towards the sciences by my family. Then I moved to the United States, went to college, became a doctor and practiced the art of medicine. Along the way I took a photography course in school, ceramic workshops later in life and finally with the advent of digital photography I began to dabble in that art form. Art for me is an outlet, a voice, something I can do to lose myself while time stays still.
Untitled #5 (From the series Bodyscapes), Archival Pigment Print, 16″ x 36″
There is only one color image in these works, why so many black and white images in the exhibit? The snow covered hills in Iceland were black and white when I photographed them. They were void of color. As the project progressed the images spoke to me more succinctly in black and white. To me black and white removes distraction of color and the emotions it portrays on the surface.
Are you at peace with the outcome of this series? I say this work is still in progress. I want to continue this project as long as I can, but I am happy about the direction it has taken me.
What have you learned as an artist through this time. As Steven Sondheim said, ‘Art isn’t easy, but does get easier if you have something to say that resonates with the audience.’
Artist Sirous Partovi, taken by Heriberto Ibarra
Intimate Landscape and Bodyscape are on display at The Art Avenue Gallery and runs through November 24, 2017.
The Art Avenue Gallery hours are Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.. and Wednesday 11:000a.m. -2:00 p.m. at 1618 Texas Ave. Suite E. For additional information or questions, please email info@theartave.com or call 915.213.4318.
Be one of the first to preview artwork by international artists premiering at Las Artistas in November.
This sneak preview of works include paintings, prints, ceramics, glass, jewelry and wearable art and will be on display in the Circa 163 room at Hotel Indigo on Friday, November 17 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. In it’s 47th year Las Artistas is striving to foster a relationship with the public and will have artists on hand to meet and greet guests and answer questions about the upcoming show.
The preview is $15 and includes one-all day ticket to Las Artistas at Epic Railyard, an opportunity to enjoy light appetizers and appreciate the El Paso sunset and surrounding mountains.
Founded in 1970, Las Artistas has grown from a small group of enterprising El Paso female artists seeking a venue for their work, to one of the premiere arts organizations in El Paso and Southern New Mexico. The Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts Show is sponsored by Ruhmann Law, with support from the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department.
Las Artistas Preview Party is sponsored by artist Margie Melby
The photographs featured in this exhibition include works from my most recent series, Intimate Landscape which has been a vehicle for me to explore and ultimately depict emotions surrounding isolation, intrigue and intimacy.
This series is influenced by my 29-year relationship with my wife, also a physician, who sustained the impact of a needle which rendered her HIV-Positive during our first year of marriage. The resulting issues surrounding her unknown longevity, intimacy and love at times led me to isolation and depression.
In this gallery you will see a selection of photographs produced between 2011 and 2017. During this period of creative experimentation I used metaphor to help me articulate a narrative. Images were produced at a range of places including snow fields in Fjallabak Iceland and dunes of White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. It depicts a period of my life full of emotional volatility, isolation and depression. I felt like I was losing Patti.
My work has evolved naturally into a new project entitled “Bodyscapes” that is showcased on the long wall in this gallery. By strategically combining multiple photographs to create one complete image, each work functions as a departure from the loneliness and uncertainty that was engulfing me. Through combining the stark and often private experience of remote landscapes with images of the human body I have forged a path to bring Patti back into the narrative of my photography, giving her permanence in my life as well as my artistic practice.
Eric Erickson (1902 – 1994), a noted twentieth century psychologist postulated that
.….in the first stage of adult development we begin to share ourselves more intimately with others. Avoiding intimacy, fearing commitment and relationships can lead to isolation, loneliness, and sometimes depression. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of love.
Bodyscapes has become my conduit to growth; my creative muse. I am happy to share with you seven of my early works in this new on-going series of photographs.
Rhonda Doré specializes in abstract collage and painting. Her work is in private collections in the United States, England and Scotland. She has been an award winner in the National Collage Society’s annual juried exhibit, and has shown her work in exhibitions nationally and in the Southwest. You’ll find her work at The Art Avenue Gallery in El Paso, Texas.
“These are little watercolor and gouache paintings I make when I travel or when I’m not working on bigger things.” You’ll find them just the way they’d look in a Paris apartment or a French flea market: new or vintage frames (some complete with dings), different sizes and shapes, all full of charm — and framed with archival backing and UV-protective glass.
As we progress towards Fall a collective of artists share their recent travels in Summer Memories.
Remember the fun you experienced on your summer vacations with family, friends or even alone? Chances are you photographed much of it on your smart phone and brought back a memento from each trip—a t-shirt, a coffee mug or perhaps even a piece of art.
Four local artists are sharing their recent adventures through Summer Memories, a collection of paintings and photography documenting a piece of their travels and experiences.
Rhonda Doré, Terrance Flores, Adriana Peraldi and Sirous Partovi each present a unique angle for sharing their trips from a vacation in Paris, France, a wedding in San Miguel de Allende, and adventures in Sedona, Arizona and various parts of Texas.
“Sometimes it’s the little things you remember of summer. Painting a little French spoon (with its signature bee on the handle) takes me to a rainy day at the Paris flea markets. I revisit pomegranates growing, a lovely chair in a New Orleans shop or platters of shrimp on a table. These pieces are my secret memories of summer,” said Rhonda Doré
“I love this particular show because it ignites conversations. People see one image and it creates an atmosphere to share their personal experiences. The dialogues are guaranteed to occur because people enjoy describing their journeys,” said Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek, The Art Avenue Gallery owner.
Contemporary artist Adriana Peraldi exhibits a set of butterflies she noticed while at a wedding in San Miguel de Allende. “I was sitting outside the church waiting for the bridal party and these beautiful butterflies, two of them, were flying and they were beautiful color of red but I painted them with my colors. The butterfly is a change of a lot of things so that is why I painted them,” said Peraldi.
Summer Memories opens Thursday, September 14, 2017 at 6 p.m. and will be on display through October 14, 2017.
