Exhibit June 2-July 18
Reception and Informal Artists’ Talk: Sunday, June 13, 2-4 p.m.

Some of the best collaborations begin with asking the “what if…?” questions, as Sam Elkins and Diane Sandlin did when considering their quite different, yet parallel crafts: contemporary weaving and abstract painting. Instead of focusing on differences, the two artists looked for commonalities in their respective art forms. With a progression of multiple layers of paint and the addition of marks, abrasions, and surface materials, Sandlin’s work is a study in undisclosed history, curiosity, movement and color. Symmetrically, the fiber pieces Elkins weaves relate directly to her history in northern New Mexico, with abstracted minimal landscapes, subtle surface designs and a sense of letting the all natural fibers form the story.

Both art forms are engaging on their own, but the visual transition from tactile to painted surfaces and back again provides the viewer with additional ways to see each artist’s art in the context of the other. One artist provides the perfect foil for the other. Weavings harken back to traditional, almost ancient times, yet these evoke a minimalism, full of nuanced conjecture in a modern world.

Contrasting with the fibers are paintings with enmeshed references and textured backgrounds, contemporary and at the same time, evocative of another place and time. One style plays off the other…complementary yet strongly individual. Sandlin and Elkins offer an intention of quiet introspection into these works…asking the viewers to look more deeply, finding joy in the expressions of each and perhaps even their own place in the work.