Parks Gallery will present “Steve Storz: Drawings 2007 to 2009” from April 4 to 28, 2009, with an opening reception Saturday, April 4, from 4 to 6 p.m. While Storz’s reputation has rested primarily on his sculpture – architectonic found-object works filled with mystery and apocalyptic intensity, drawings have always been an important part of his process and in recent years have increased in importance.
“Over the last 3 years my concentration has been on finding different ways to use line to convey information,” Storz says. “to convey a singular quality, to render an edge or lead the eye from one place to another, or to shade an object. But more importantly, I want line to express emotional content as well, to exhibit desire or unease, an off-balance sense like just before toppling.”
Storz, who works in oil pastel, graphite, oil paint, and chalk pastel, is inspired by shapes in nature such as pods and tentacles, and, as in his sculpture, architectural forms that carry an ambiguity that is at once ancient and futuristic architecture. “Often in my sculpture I’ll thrust an object out into space to give it a teetering quality,” he says. “To get that sharpness into a two-dimensional image is a challenge and I find and I really like pursuing it”.

Many of you know of artist Jim Wagner’s passion for fly fishing. Not long ago Jim was rafting his way down the Gunnison river in Colorado through an area known as Black Canyon. The rapids got a little more tough than he’d expected and his one man raft flipped over plunging him into chilly, churning rapids. The raft landed on top of him, impeding his wrestle to the surface, nearly drowning him. After struggling out from under the raft and spending a cold, wet night on the riverbank Jim returned to tell of his experience, especially the rejuvenation he has felt about life itself since then. The event, even though several months passed, is still vibrant and Jim has begun to paint a series of paintings about that harrowing event. Parks Gallery is proud to offer the first in this series called Black Canyon: What a Ride!

Black Canyon

What a Ride!

(transcribed from a tape by Jim Wagner)

Chapter One

Last summer, a friend and I from Taos, Ron, and his son, went down the Gunnison River in single-man pontoon boats, which is usually the most terrifying fun I’ve ever had. There are rapids and clear spots and the fishing’s just out of this world. They pack you in on horseback, down Trekker Trail to the river bottom, the whole thing usually takes two to three days. We got in the river about 2 p.m. and in about three hours we decided on a camp spot. We camped that night — you bring your own food and water, and it’s just real wonderful time down there. It’s just absolutely gorgeous. But when you’re in those rapids it is SCARY. And I can’t believe this, I’ve been doing it so long.

Anyway, the second day I took off first, headed for Pleasure Park where I planned to get out. It’s a fishing lodge, supplies and a bar. So I took off and I hit this rock sideways and my pontoon boat came over the top of me, knocking me down in about 15 feet of water. And for a second there I thought, “This is it! This is really it!”

Chapter two

I bobbed back up, in a class five life vest, and my pontoon boat was — I don’t know how many feet away, but it was upside down! All my gear and everything was, of course, upside down in the water. I noticed that the boat was drifting towards the edge of the rock. It’s knocked over and it’s about to take off down this other set of rapids.

So, I scissor-kicked — the only stroke I could really use, and just caught the two end pieces of the boat and pulled myself up onto the metal bottom. Then we were off, down those rapids, I don’t know how long. It seemed forever. I broke a bone in my foot and I got a few scratches. By the time I got down to the end of the rapids, Ron and his son were there and helped me get the boat overturned and went down a little farther to a camp spot and pulled over and I said “I can’t do this.”

Where the Big Ones Live

Chapter three

We’re in the middle of a steep canyon, there’s no way a helicopter can get in to get us back, and there’s no way to walk out, or to float without getting back in these rapids.

Ron and his son stayed with me, just for a couple hours, just to make sure I didn’t have any concussion or anything, which was rather sweet. I got all my stuff dried out, they left me some water, and a little bit of food, and then they took off to get the Forrest Service or the BLM. So I had all the rest of the day, and I just fished — caught a lot of fish — and it started getting dark and I’m thinking, “When are they gonna come and get me?” Anyway, it was playing on me, being down there, watching the sun go down the Black Canyon, which is a narrow canyon, and I started thinking about, “How am I gonna get outta here? It’s gonna cost $10,000, that’s what they charge for things like this!”

Chapter four

But unbeknownst to me at the time, that extra dollar you put on your fishing license covers you for being rescued by the BLM, anywhere in the state of New Mexico or Colorado.

I had plenty of water, I also had a water purifier that takes care of Giardia, I always carry that wherever I go. So it started getting dark, I bedded down and heard the mountain lions — you see their tracks up there. Of course I had a .38 with me which kind of takes the edge off. But everything was dry and I lay in my sleeping bag, I don’t know how long until I finally fell asleep. I woke up really early, just as the light was coming o up. And then I start really wondering, “When am I gonna get outta here?”

No Place To Camp

Chapter five

So I started fishing some more and caught some more fish. And then I got a lot of thinking done, about what’s important. I remembered that as soon as I popped out of that water I was thinking about Mary, and then about getting the raft.

Then I wrote, ‘HELP! I’M STRANDED’ on my life vest with a black sharpie, for anybody going by, in case I was taking a nap or something. These two guys came by in a medium sized raft, I knew they couldn’t do anything, but they gave me some candy, which was really nice of them, and we sat around bullshitting about fishing and everything. Then they took off, and there weren’t very many people on the river. It was my third day on the river, with nobody . . . there weren’t that many people coming down, so I started thinking ahead about, okay, let’s stop gobbling everything up and think about maybe spending two or three more days here, and get used to it.

Chapter six

And so at 11:30, quarter to twelve, here comes the BLM, three guys in a big raft, pulled up and made sure I was all right and everything. One guy took my raft, and I’d fixed it up — believe me, take Gorilla Tape wherever you go, it’s great! Good stuff!  We got the oars working and put my stuff in their boat and jumped in and away we went!  They even let me fish all the way down.

By the end of the day we got out and I just turned around and I gave them my raft. I said “you guys can have it.” I was so thankful! And then I wrote a letter to the BLM thanking them, and naming their names, and I thanked the guys at Pleasure, Leroy and his wife.

Now every time I go down there it’s just so beautiful and I think about the close-call that I had.  I was thinking about it the other day and I just started doing these paintings. So, anyway, that’s kind of my trip. I love you guys, Steve and Steve, and, oh my God! I can’t think of her name! [Laughter – he’s talking about Mary]. Well, talk to ya later, Bye!

Steve Storz

Arthur Lopez’s work is mesmerizing and intriguing, and with every new piece I find myself searching my own childhood memories of Sunday school to find the story behind it. Of course, whether I know of the particular story or not, I always enjoy researching each one and I thought it would be nice to share my findings on Lopez’s newest piece.

San Juan Diego

 Juan Diego walked every Saturday and Sunday to church, and on cold mornings, wore a woven cloth called a tilma, or ayate made from the maguey cactus. One Saturday morning, as he was walking to church, he heard the sound of birds singing on Tepeyac hill and someone calling his name. He ran up the hill, and there saw a Lady, about fourteen years of age, resembling an Aztec princess in appearance, and surrounded by light. The Lady spoke to him in his native tongue and asked Juan Diego to tell the bishop of Mexico, that she wanted a shrine, to be built on the spot where she stood, in her honor.

Recognizing the Lady as the Virgin Mary, Juan Diego went to the bishop as instructed, but bishop was doubtful and told Juan Diego he needed a sign. Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac hill and explained to the Lady that the bishop did not believe him. He implored the Lady to use another messenger, insisting he was not worthy. The Lady however insisted that it was of the utmost importance that it be Diego speaking to the bishop on her behalf. The Lady promised Juan Diego she would give him a sign the following day and asked him to climb the hill and gather the flowers he found there.

It was December, when normally nothing blooms in the cold. There, Diego found roses. The Lady re-arranged the roses carefully inside the folded tilma that Juan Diego wore and told him not to open it before anyone but the bishop. When Juan Diego unfolded his tilma before the Bishop roses cascaded from his tilma, and an icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously impressed on the cloth.

It’s no secret that one of the first areas to suffer from a recession, or any economic downturn, is the luxury item market, and that may include art. I don’t include art in that market myself, but some other people do, but watch those folks out there who are still buying art. Why would they do that at a time like this?

Simple: the old adage of “buy low, sell high”. Or, as is often the case with art, buy low and keep it.

This doesn’t just apply to commodities and precious metals. Actually, for the savvy art buyer, art is often a better investment than any of the above mentioned because it survives in ways other materials can’t. It ties in with our emotions, our sense of belonging in the turmoil of advertising and hype. It gives us warmth of being. It stimulates our soul. It usually increases in value no matter what other financial events are going on. It even has the potential of becoming priceless. The advantage extends to all levels of art buyers, not just the wealthy.

Those art buyers that are out there now (and, thankfully, a few are in here at Parks Gallery), are smart buyers who sense the opportunity to buy when the market is soft. They may pay the going rate, but that rate hasn’t ballooned recently and will probably stay steady for some time. Many is the time in recent, prosperous years when a fan of a particular artist has decided to buy and discovered the prices had risen out of their range. So right now, for those collectors, and even the just-starting, is an excellent time to buy that artwork you’ve been contemplating. Not only are the prices stable, but you can usually always find a payment plan (remember “lay-away”?). Some galleries will even extend discounts if possible-it never hurts to ask.

When prosperous times return those buyers will feel the advantage of their thoughtful collecting.

Ultimately art dealers and galleries are that special bridge between artist and the buyer. Right now the favor is with the buyers and the galleries and dealers will certainly be grateful for your good business. Happy art buying!

-Steve Storz

I was looking at all the gold buying going on recently and got to thinking about how I invest. I got a twinge of sort of “get on the band wagon” with those who are buying up gold as a way to secure some wealth and then took a little step back and wondered ‘o.k. what would i do with gold? Well, not much really. It quickly occurred to me I would much rather buy a piece of art that I could hang on my wall. A lump of gold might be sort of interesting for a while, but I notice that I have some other rocks ariound and I don’t get nearly as much pleasure from looking at those as i do a painting or sculpture. So went I and bought an artwork instead of the gold. The artist was very happy to sell me the art. If fact, his response was of amazement and the few e-mails we exchanged to handle the sale (the artist lives in another state) were decorated with lots of ‘thank-you!’s, ‘Holy S***!’ and ‘you’re the coolest!’. I imagined what sort of transaction would happen with gold had I taken that route. I suspect it would have been along the lines of a dry exchange about the amount and a few pleasantries pertaining to the market being affected by the economy. I doubt if there would be same level of appreciation from a gold broker. So, not only did I wind up with something that is much more aesthetically pleasing, but I really made the artist’s day. As to whether the artwork will increase in value in the market place over time I do not know, nor do I have an expectations about that. But for myself, I do know that the synergy created from the art buying will leave an enriching effect for a long time to come.

Steve Storz

As winter approaches and the cold Taos weather sets in, I have been furiously going through my attic and closets trying to decide what I need to get rid of. Every year at this time I develop an urgency to purge my household of “under-appreciated possessions” (a.k.a. junk), in order to make room for the impending Christmas gifts. Having a small child around, as I’ve discovered, simply fuels this urgency—a mother can only stand so many stuffed animals, model airplanes, and beeping gadgets under her roof. But how does one make the difficult decision about what is and isn’t worth keeping? For me, there is a single litmus test—I ask myself, “Does (the possession in question) enrich my life and/or the life of my family?” If the answer is yes, I keep it. No, and it goes to someone who can better appreciate it.

I also try to approach my purchases in this same way. Gone are the days of tentative shopping trips where I waffle over a purchase, buy it, and decide later that I really didn’t want it in the first place. In the same breath I can also say that I’m done saying ‘no’ to items I desperately want to have, and then later being forced to live with the regret of not having spent the money. How many times have I been in the presence of something exciting, deeply comforting, or that which was a rare glimpse of perfection—and I foolishly passed it up? These forsaken gems still haunt me: The handmade hat with the angora trim at a 1998 Renaissance Fair, the juicy painting of our beloved canyon at the 2007 Pilar Studio Tour, and the exotic yarn tapestry at this year’s Taos Wool Festival all have been, sadly, reduced to regrets. I’m still kicking myself for not listening to that voice that was screaming, “This is it! It’s right, it’s right. It’s so right.”

I think especially now, in this strange time of economic uncertainty, it is important to consider these ideas. How are our lives the richer for our purchases? From my own experience, I know that it doesn’t take a lot of money to live richly; it’s about the choices we make on a daily basis. By giving up those things that mean very little to us (Starbucks habit, magazine subscription, fancy cell phone plan, etc.), we can make room for bigger, bolder, and more beautiful things to fill those spaces… And what can be more enriching to our lives than that which we find beautiful?

Melissa Glarner

Parks Gallery has just received six new studies by Erin Currier. Click here to go to our site.

View all new Passenger Safety Drawings

The studies are a continuation of the Passenger Safety Series that hung along side Currier’s 2007 exhibition, “America Below“.

Over the next three months Erin will be making her way through Morocco and Africa, among other places, in preparation for her next Parks Gallery exhibition that will take place in August, 2009. If you would like more information please feel free to contact the Gallery directly.

One of the most interesting aspects about our artist Jim Wagner is that so many people know him, or relate to him through his art and have had an interesting experience that others would enjoy hearing about. I want to invite anyone who has a Wagner experience about him or his work that was typical of his uniqueness, to write to us. You can submit your stories to us by e-mail at stevestorz@parksgallery.com or right here to our blog. For those of you who might wish to delve into Jim Wagner’s history through 1993 in book form, you can order the Rancho Milagro publication: Jim Wagner-An American Artist by Stephen Parks on the Parks Gallery website http://www.parksgallery.com/bpc_info.php?artistID=1

Or call us, we’d be happy to take your order by phone at 575-751-0343.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Steve Storz, Parks Gallery

The Durango Public Library will be adding three of Melissa Zink’s Bronze Guardians to their collection as they celebrate the grand opening of their new 42,000-square-foot building.

Through the formation of The Guardians Project family and friends of Melissa Zink have helped raise money to purchase the sculptures. The three Guardians will be installed by the Parks Gallery at their new home, watching over the second floor of the library, on November 21st. The figures, whose surfaces are textured with various words, phrases, and passages, are indeed a fitting addition to the library’s collection of fine statuary.

To read more about the new Library please visit the Durango Library web site or follow the link below to read the on-line article written in the Durango Telegraph: 

Brushing up the library
by Jules Masterjohn

Having just witnessed political history last night with the election of Barack Obama as our next President, I find myself thinking about how politics is reflected in art, and in particular, how that connection is revealed in a painting we have available here at the Parks Gallery. Last nights coverage on PBS held a tone that, until almost the very last, seemed to express a sense of “I’ll believe it when I see it.” I recalled the figure in the foreground of Susan Contreras’s painting The Rally and thought of the way he looks. He’s standing, arms crossed, sort of a glum look on his face, a mask actually, and has a bit of a defiant pose, while those  around him cavort, jump and dance excitedly. He seems to be pondering the same question.

I wonder how he feels now that the election is over. Is he ecstatically jumping around like the others around him? Is he put off, moping off down the road, disgruntled? The Rally was done in the months just prior to the 2008 Presidential election, so it’s more about the spirit of the event than an historical recreation. But so was Declaration of Independence by John Trumball, one of the most significant paintings of the history of the founding of the United States of America. The scene Trumball depicted never actually took place, and yet emotionally, it captures the feeling of the historic event. In the case of both these paintings, the artist has set down a record, in color, form and style, of an historical moment that can be referred to in no other language, than that which the artist has chosen and executed, making it a treasure.

                                                                                    -Steve Storz

The Rally, by Susan Contreras