PAST EXHIBITION
Denise Yaghmourian: Outside the Box
June 12, 2009—July 18, 2009

Press Release

Mark di Suvero: Sculpture, Prints, Drawings  

Holly Roberts: Anomalous Tales           

Denise Yaghmourian: Outside the Box

                           

For Immediate Release

Beginning on June 12, 2009 Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, at 435 South Guadalupe Street in Santa Fe, New Mexico will present three separate shows opening on the same night.  We are pleased to announce the opening of Sculpture, Prints, Drawings, an exhibition of sculpture, prints and original drawings by the famous American sculptor, Mark di Suvero.  We are also excited to be presenting Anomalous Tales, an exhibition of new mixed media work by New Mexico artist, Holly Roberts; as well as Outside the Box, an exhibition of new sculptural boxes by artist, Denise Yaghmourian. There will be a reception for all three exhibitions on Friday, June 12, 2009, from 5-8:30 pm (extended for SOFA West tour), and the shows continue through July 18, 2009.

Mark di Suvero was born in 1933 as Marco Polo di Suvero, in Shanghai, China, to Italian parents.  The family immigrated to the United States in 1941.  This abstract expressionist sculptor attended the University of California, Berkeley to study fine arts, and ultimately earned a degree in Philosophy.  Later, di Suvero moved to New York City where he was surrounded by an explosion of Abstract Expressionism.  While working in construction, di Suvero was injured in a nearly fatal elevator accident.  While in rehabilitation, he learned to weld steel, which was something he could do while sitting in his wheelchair.  His early works were large outdoor pieces that incorporated railroad ties, tires, scrap metal and structural steel.  His explorations transformed over time to focus on I-beams and heavy guage metal.  Many of his pieces contain sections that are allowed to swing and rotate giving the overall forms a considerable range of motion.  Through perseverance and determination, di Suvero gradually re-learned to walk, and in 1967 he acquired a crane, which allowed him to work in a more improvisational way and on a larger scale.  By this time, his sculpture had been shown at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Jewish Museum in New York, the Rodin Museum in Paris, and in Los Angeles, where in 1966 he designed and installed the Peace Tower in criticism of US involvement in Vietnam. Di Suvero moved to Europe in 1972, where he continued to work vigorously, with shows in France, the Netherlands and the Venice Biennale in 1975.  He returned to the United States in 1975 where he was honored with a solo show at the Whitney Museum in New York.  Since then, di Suvero has continued to exhibit extensively across the world and currently lives in New York.

Holly Roberts is a nationally and internationally exhibited artist, currently residing in Corrales, New Mexico.  Mixing together photography and painting, her work reflects a dark way of looking at the world, yet one also infused with humor.  Roberts’ work illustrates archetypal emotional and psychological states.  Her subject matter ranges from the internal to a wider worldview, and touches on religion, technology and the environment.

Denise Yaghmourian’s work uses found objects, fabric remnants, wood, sewing notions and other everyday objects to create sculptural boxes that rely on repetition to create a sense of infinite wonder.  Conjoining the repetitive process inherent in machine-made items with laboriously repetitious handwork, Yaghmourian embraces the hypnotic and meditative inherent in both.

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