February-March 2020

Christine Benkert

Christine has spent the majority of her life involved in photography, beginning as a kid with a small box camera - the kind that had to be sent in for processing and returned with black and white “snaps”, loaded with fresh film. Born and raised in rural Wisconsin, she recorded the immediate world around her, (pets and friends mainly). She loved literature so as she got older she began taking photographs to illustrate poetry and creative writing. Upon receiving her BFA in Photography from Ohio University, she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota and started Christine Benkert Photography, Inc. to make a living while always learning and involved in her passion...photography. She taught photography for ten years at Metropolitan State University. Commercially she directed her shooting to ad agencies, graphic designers, corporations, and magazines and specialized in still life, product, food and editorial illustration. Selected clients included BBD&O, Campbell-Mithun, Carmichael Lynch, Larsen, Target, General Mills, 3M, Aveda, Mpls/StPaul Magazine and Minnesota Monthly. She was recipient of a Woman in Design International Award and Communication Arts Photography Annual Award. After over two decades of a distinguished commercial career, Christine returned to her original passion as an artist/photographer. She moved to Santa Fe in 2000 to immerse herself in the arts and become a part of the digital age of photography. In 2010 she moved to the San Francisco bay area where she devoted herself fully to the creation of her artwork. 2012 brought her back to the Southwest, residing in Phoenix while maintaining a home and studio space in Santa Fe. In 2014 she returned to Santa Fe on a permanent basis.

February-March 2020

Dr. Wayland Wong

Glassblowing is a highly structured process. Working with a furnace is dangerous, and disorganization or lack of planning produces unacceptable consequences. The process entails dipping hollow metal rods in a vat of melted glass, blowing in short puffs and shaping the liquid glass bubble on the end of the blowpipe, thereby creating a “vessel.” The vessel is then molded into shape by gathering additional layers of molten glass onto the vessel which is then shaped and enlarged by alternately puffing through the metal rod and then spinning the rod and vessel utilizing centrifugal force. At this point color is added by rolling the semi-liquid vessel into finely ground colored glass, after which millefiori and other additions can be introduced. After the vessel is fired and cooled, an individually-created stainless steel stand is made in a metal forge.

Before moving to Northern New Mexico, my work consisted of representational objects such as  fluted bowls, vases, and decorative plates. Upon arrival I found new inspiration through the bright unrelenting desert sun, where I began to recognize the medium as an art form that could be freed from represented objects. Working with Cia Thorne at Liquid Light Glass Gallery, I moved into metalworking and into the idea of approaching glass in abstract form, where light moving through a three-dimensional object could make a more personal and relevant statement. On a personal level, my family made the journey from Canton province in China through the Southwest and into Texas as immigrant workers on the early railroads.  The primary and bright colors that I associate with my Chinese heritage take on new profundity when amplified by the brilliance of the Northern New Mexican sun.  My inspiration comes from the amorphous state of the fluidity of glass upon which is applied the strict discipline of the artist’s craftmanship. The globes seem to float in the air, without boundaries. The space surrounding the objects and the space they occupy-the “negative space”- take on an aura that is reflective of objects in nature in the desert sun.

“I am a physician and educator by formal training but I am irresistably drawn to painting because it offers me a wonderful opportunity to get out of my ‘rational self’ and into my ‘physical and emotive selves’ to explore the most essential aspects of creative effort. My works focus on the relationships and boundaries between color, shape, line, light and contrast. I don’t bring a preconception or a ‘plan’ to the canvas. I try to let the paint and its flow dictate the next choice of color and mark making in each work. My aspiration is to create paintings that evoke strong feelings, reflections and recollections in the heart and mind of the viewer. In the simplest sense, the works can be thought of as ‘inner-scapes’ produced by a ‘conversation’ between the materials and the painter. I intentionally don’t name my paintings as I want the viewers to feel the freedom to experience and decide for themselves what the possible meanings and emotional resonances of the work may be.”

To see more about Danny and his work visit dsarts.org.

November-December 2019

Marla Lipkin

Marla Lipkin grew up in New York City, attending the notable Music and Art High School. The artist went on to The Cooper Union School of Art, Architecture and Engineering, where she studied painting with Paul Resika, Leland Bell and Marcia Marcus. She also has a Masters of Art from Hunter College.

“I look for light; that quality of light that defines the mood, that describes the landscape, whether it's overcast, brilliant, or the setting sun. We get a different effect, always different and quite inspiring. It's always like that when I go to The Cape. From the tip of Provincetown, by the rocks that take you to the sandbar where Long Point Light resides, that is a wonder of light. Fifty miles out at sea, this is a place of very magical light. I've painted many works from there - all are different, yet they are from the same location - just a slight turn of the head - and you see the dunes, violet at dusk. Straight ahead, and you get the reds and oranges flying off the water! Or, the most brilliant blue sky with huge puffs of clouds riding high - all reflected in the marsh at high tide.”

To see more about Marla and her work please visit marlalipkinart.com.