Southwest Art – August 2019

AUGUST 2019 • WWW.SOUTHWESTART.COM 39

contact information

505.988.1311

http://www.alexandrastevens.com

See more work at http://www.southwestart.com/

events/alexandra-stevens-aug2019.

nary, yet they are local,” says the artist.
Long influenced by Giorgio de
Chirico (1888-1978) and other surreal-
ists, Taylor-Gore thinks of her own
paintings as having a “quiet surreal-
ism.” She has been exploring dreamlike
imagery and exaggerated, “bird’s-eye
view” perspectives in her work since her
days as a graduate student in art at the
University of California, Santa Barbara.
“I’m a Jungian at heart, and I’m con-
scious of what happens in our dreams,”
she says. Not surprisingly, symbolism
abounds in her Route 66 pieces, where
doors and windows are nearly always
open, creating a fl ow between the in-
side and outside worlds. “It creates a
dreamlike reality, and also the sense of
a journey, of going from one space to the
other,” she says.
Hayes, who began her art career as
a sculptor, moves easily between me-
diums, from oil to cold wax to acrylic,
and she also explores varying themes in
her work. “I’m exploring different ways
to express myself and make marks, and
to just have fun and not be so serious,”
says the Santa Fe artist, who brings as
many as 15 paintings to the show, in-
cluding new pieces from both her Star
Traveler and Spirit Warrior series.
Like Taylor-Gore, Hayes is inspired
by the things she observes in the world
around her and in the dream state. “I
believe in mysticism and different di-
mensions,” says the Santa Fe artist.
“A lot of my work has a sense of that.”
Paintings from her Star Traveler series,
for example, depict beings who have
traveled throughout the galaxy and
have acquired various charms along
the way. Other works portray stylized
female fi gures, often accompanied by
birds, coyotes, and other creatures. “My
women used to be taller and thinner,
with longer legs; once I turned 60, they
started to get rounder,” Hayes says with
a smile. “I think that had to do with me
and my body because I could relate to

that more.” Although the women in her

paintings aren’t real people, the art-

ist says they feel like her friends. Af-

ter painting them, she says, “Then you

let them go and be friends with some-

one else.” —Kim Agricola

Arlene LaDell Hayes, Looking for Water, acrylic, 24 x 48.

Arlene LaDell Hayes, Leaving the Beach, oil, 24 x 22.