In honor of Mother’s Day on May 12, Rowe Fine Art Gallery salutes its female artists with Magic & Mastery, part one of a two-part show. The festivities get started on Friday, May 3, at 4 p.m. with an artists’ reception featuring new paintings, sculptures and jewelry. The show continues through May and then, on June 7, transitions to a celebration of the gallery’s male artists, just in time for Father’s Day.
Magic & Mastery highlights the paintings of Julie T. Chapman, Kim Diment, Jen Farnsworth and Amy Ringholz; the sculptures of Shirley Eichten Albrecht and Kim Kori; and the jewelry of Lesley Aine McKeown.
“Why” 6”H x 20”W Original Mixed Media Painting on Panel by Artist Julie T. Chapman
Julie T. Chapman will debut Why, which depicts a fox. “I’ve been studying Gerhard Richter’s work and experimenting with his approach to abstract painting in developing the ‘backgrounds’ for my own pieces,” says Julie. “The quizzical tilt of the fox’s head inspired the title of the painting, which can be interpreted in many ways: Why foxes? Or why people? Why this moment, this choice of colors, this painting? It is left to you, the viewer, to provide answers (or further questions!).”
Kim Diment plans to complete a raccoon painting in time for the show, and she’s working on a series of paintings about some of our more misunderstood creatures in the hopes that she might change the way you think about them (possums, we’re talking about you). But it’s been a busy year for the Michigan-based artist, who made a stop in Sedona in the spring. At the end of 2023, she placed second in the Richeson75 Animals, Birds, and Wildlife Competition, and she was recently asked to jury the Almenara Art Prize international competition. Nonetheless, Kim’s next painting and her favorite subject matter are never far from mind.
“Awesome Possum” 12”H x 8”W Original Acrylic Painting by Artist Kim Diment
“Animals have been my biggest motivator in life,” says Kim. “I love painting them, photographing them, sketching them…..and, most of all, being with them. There is so much to learn about ourselves by studying them.”
“Joy on a Lazy Day” 20”H x 24”W Mixed Media - Graphite, Ink, Acrylic and Oil on Canvas, Framed by Artist Jen Farnsworth
Sedona’s own Jen Farnsworth has another coyote up to unveil, this one titled Joy on a Lazy Day. “I hoped to capture the ‘joy’ of a quiet moment of rest on a sunny afternoon and the beautiful connection between wildlife and humans,” says Jen. “Coyotes are not only playful, mischievous and highly intelligent but also loyal partners, great parents and highly successful survivors. I always hope to instill this connection and respect with all of my wildlife art, but especially for the often misunderstood and too-often maligned coyote, an icon of the Southwest.”
The Rocky Mountain Weavers’ Guild invited sculptor Shirley Eichten Albrecht to Denver this winter to teach a basket-weaving class, and she won an online contest through Welburn Gourd Farm, the California supplier of the gourds Shirley uses in her sculptures. In fact, she’s finished a new gourd piece, Phoenix Rising, for the May show.
“When working with gourds, I always look for a story,” she says. “I was fortunate to have a beautiful manzanita base to help tell this particular story. I started my weaving in the top opening (I call it the face) of the gourd, and that’s when I pictured a bird in flight. Immediately, I thought, ‘Phoenix Rising.’ This is one of the first times where I had the title before I even completed the sculpture. I wanted to depict feathers in the body of the gourd, and I did this by using copper and curling the ends.”
“Delicious” 4.25”H x 4”W x 3.25”D Highly Collectible Limited Edition Bronze of 50 by Artist Kim Kori
The gallery’s only female bronze sculptor, Kim Kori, is still reeling from the release of her first book, Stories in Bronze, at the end of 2023. She also received a Distinguished Achievement award during the American Women Artists show at Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina. Kim tells us she has a special surprise in store for the May show, but she’s not ready to reveal the details just yet. In the meantime, collectors will want to get their hands on Delicious, a new bronze depicting a field mouse.
“It’s a glorious day for this little field mouse,” says Kim, explaining the story behind Delicious. “While running through an orchard she spots an overripe apple on the ground. Once she’s tasted the delicious morsels, she eats almost halfway through the fruit, completely enjoying herself.”
And don’t forget to look for the gallery’s newest artist, jeweler Lesley Aine McKeown, who works with exotic stones like rutile, vesuvianite and dendritic agate. Lesley creates her earrings, rings, pendants and necklaces in her Prescott studio, painstakingly sketching each piece to scale before translating her designs to high-karat gold and sterling silver.
Chrysocolla, Lapis, Parti Sapphire Pendant by Artist Lesley Aine McKeown
Whether you’re shopping for a special mom in your life, spending an evening gallery hopping with your mom, or you just want to shake hands with some of the most talented women in Sedona, Rowe Gallery is the place to be on May 3.
Rowe Fine Art Gallery represents traditional and contemporary southwestern artists. The gallery, located under the bell tower in Patio de las Campanas at Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, is open Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call 928-282-8877