Gallery artist Roger Reuitmann has his amazing “Death of Venus”  life size sculpture included in a large Chicago Cultural Center exhibition entitled “Morbid Curiosity,”  January 28 - July 8, 2012.  Roger will be exhibiting with some of the greatest artists of all time -- Rembrant, Albrecht Durer, Francisco Goya, Jasper Johns, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Otto Dix among others.  The exhibition is 1,000 artworks from the Richard Harris Collection.  The Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture says the exhibition “...explores the iconography of death across a variety of artistic, cultural and spiritual practices from 2000 B.C.E. to the present day.”  

"DEATH OF VENUS" with Roger Reutimann
Fiberglass and automotive paint
72" x 42" x 42"

Critical Acclaim
“The first thing you notice about Geoffrey Gorman’s  sculptures is their size: they are very big. And mesmerizing. And varied.

Some of them carry what look like whole boxes of bolts, hooks, screws, washers, keys, nails and wires on their backs. Others have mates. All come with Latin names, species identifications and fascinating back stories, courtesy of the irrepressible Mr. Gorman.

If you look at these animals long enough, you can even imagine a complete set of them marching two by two onto a new Noah’s Ark.

I had a chance to chat with Geoffrey about his evolving menagerie at the Jane Sauer Gallery during a recent  visit to Santa Fe. Two parts Merlin, three parts Huck Finn, he relishes his role a mythmaking artist and thoroughly enjoys conjuring tales to match each new creature he invents.”

                              Hope Daniels
                                  Editor-in-Chief

Artist Statement
“My work responds to our global age with its current crisis and prevalent mythology. In my oil and tempera paintings on  canvas and panel, I have created an anachronistic imaginary world where pagan gods, heroes and saints are resurrected from the vestiges of a post-industrial landscape. As they emerge from the ruins of a declining empire, we are confronted with the survival of the myth of a “Golden Age.” This myth presents a utopian existence when life seemed to be unspoiled by the proposed set of values from a culture based on profit and consumerism. The work opens up a “Pandora’s Box” of questions about how we got to our present global condition.”

The exquisite nature of Native American artistic traditions is expertly displayed in Teri Greeves’ award winning beadwork.  Her refined use of traditional materials and techniques combined with the influence of contemporary culture make her work exceptional.  She combines the past and present to express the native experience in modern society. Our gallery has just added several new works by Teri.

Artist Nancy Scheinman has her work included in a current exhibition at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington, NY, ending January 8, 2012.  It is entitled, “Ripped: The Allure of Collage.”  The Museum says, “Collage was the first medium in the twentieth century to challenge the sanctity of the age-old forms of painting and sculpture. Derived from the French word “coller” (to glue), collage uses bits of torn and cut paper, sometimes taken from trash, to create a sense of dislocation, experimentation, irony and often, great beauty.”  You may have heard of some of the other 50 artists included in this interesting exhibition: Jean Arp, Romare Bearden, Joseph Cornell, Salvador Dali, George Grosz, Hannah Hoch, Roy Lichtentstein,  Definitely some good company to be included among. 

Gallery Manager Jorden Nye was included in the Fall 2011 Western Art and Architecture magazine's “Collector's Eye” feature. This is the third magazine article written on Jorden and his art collection in the past three years.

Alice Zrebiec, Curator of Textiles at the Denver Art Museum, has been building a very strong collection of contemporary fiber artworks. We are very happy to have facilitated three of our artists becoming part of this important collection. The Denver Art Museum has recently acquired Carol Eckert’s “Beware of Cranes,” Cindy Hickok’s “Tea With Good Friends,” and two works by Carol Shinn, “Summer Mud” and “Chimney Rock.”

The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonsian Museum of American Art recently acquired some of artist Chuck Savoie's goblets for their permanent collection.

“Savoie takes from tradition and moves it forward... It's what an artist should do and ultimately is what separates art from pure craft.”

Michael Monroe, former curator Renwick Museum Smithsonian Institution,
Washington D.C

“The goblets are very much about my interest in historical glass and textile patterns that reflect the culture in which they were originally made. I love the quality of pattern and form together in the time honored tradition of goblet making. I use various 17th century color formulas that I “weave” in with the crystal to create the rich patterns in the goblets. I feel the pieces embody the festive and the formal spirit of a goblet.”

                       Chuck Savoie

Roger Reutimann’s “Death of Venus” was singled out by Joseph Becherer, Chief Curator at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, MI, as “the most compelling” in the prestigious ArtPrize exhibit at Grand Valley State University. ArtPrize is known for attracting very accomplished sculptors competing for a grand prize of $250,000, the largest art prize competition in the world. Becherer describes Reutimann’s submission “Death of Venus.” “It is a perfect red-hot symbol of a world that worships a god or goddess of glossy, plastic beauty. The kicker is discovering the face, which is a shrouded skull—a classic mento-mori or reminder of death reminding us all physical beauty is fleeting. Many artists try to take on the masters and masterpieces but few manage to maintain their own message and vision as Reutimann does.” This is a very small edition of 2. The first piece was purchased by a Chicago collector who owns 1600 works of art.

Geoffrey Gorman’s enigmatic rabbit, “Melanotus,” has happily hopped off to his new home at the Racine Art Museum in Wisconsin. We feel confident that visitors to the Museum will find “Melanotus” to be as magical as visitors did when this artwork was exhibited at SOFA Chicago.

Geoffrey has also had a sculpture selected for purchase by New Mexico Arts for the Art in Public Places Program, “Saffrrana and Mezira,” which resides in their headquarters in downtown Santa Fe.

Jane was recently appointed by the Mayor of Santa Fe to an advisory committee for the newly founded Santa Fe University of Art and Design. Jane has a long commitment to education and also serves on the National Advisory Board of Washington University School of Art, St. Louis. The gallery also participates in the annual Santa Fe fund raiser, ARTfeast, which supports art programs in the Santa Fe public schools.

“Jane Sauer always knew she wanted to be an artist. At 10 she had her own “studio” - an examining room in her internist father's office. To keep her amused, he gave her art materials and framed the results. Some patients liked them enough to buy. “I had the mistaken idea that I was already an artist,” she recalls. “I never thought I was going to do anything else. It was just what I did: make art.” What she never envisioned was that she would become a gllerist, the owner of Jane Sauer Gallery in Santa Fe, NM.”