ARTISTS EXHIBITIONS

NatalieFeatherston

I n Nacalie Fearhersron's

I bur.-".r, in Princeron, NewI l.rr"u. there is a freezer fullI ol tuu". cakes and chocoiate

I .ubbitr. She needs themfor backup. "Sometimes myhusband wonders if he can eat

them," the stilllife paintersays. "That sruffs been sitringout in the studio for three

hours at a time. I'm not even

going to feed it to the dog."But you can't blame him for

asking. The desserts Featherston

renders in oil on panel do indeed

look good enough to eat. Theyare decadent, too, in the classic

sense of che word: custard oozes

from a slice of tiramisu; a BlackForest cake sags under the weight of the fluorescent cherry goo ar its center. Then rhere

are the chocolate bunnies that seem so real you can almost tasre rhe artificial flavor."\7hen I was studying in school, everyone wanted to be a figure painter," says the

North Carolina native, who received her art education in New York. "I u,as the onlyone who wanted to do still lifes. There is a narrative quality to them. The objects are

related; it s like a conversation that goes on." She believes her still lifes (the range ofwhich also inciudes subjects such as flowers) are "the ultimate preservation, capturingthe perfect moment before the desserts melt or the petals fall aparc."

But there's more to Featherston's work than these witty, modern takes ontraditional Dutch OId Master-style uanitas pairtir,gs. She also brings her offbear sense

of humor to the "Young Artist Shows Promise" series, a group of trantpe l'oei/ pieces

inspired by crayon drawings done by her niece, complete with the rape thar wouldadhere them to a refrigerator door. "The title is a play on phrases I used to hear a lot:

'promising young artist,''emerging artist.' At thattime, I'd been painting for10 years. I mean, what am

I emerging from, a broomcloset?" Featherston says

with a laugh. "And," she

adds, "I'm not all thatyoung, either."

-Eue Tolpa

Meya-Munson GalluT.

Natalie Featherston: Suitable

for Framing. Sep 16-2 j.Rereption Sep 16. 5-7. 225

Canyox, Santa Fe. 505-983-1657. Mon-Sar 10-5, Sun

1 1 4, unuu rnunsonga/lery, com.

Natalie Featherston. Above, Peter Parsnip, oil on panel,12 x 9"; below The Magic Garden,oil on panel, 13 x 15"

Prints

orty-five years ago, the art oflithogra-phy was in danger-only a handful ofpeople in the U.S. were skilled in the

craft. But in 1957 the method of translatingartworks to raised surfaces ofstone, zrnc, andaluminum was resuscitated with the found-ing ofthe now internationally recognized

Tamarind Institute, in Albuquerque. Theprintmaking, teaching, and research center,

which is afflliated with the University ofNew Mexico, has trained hundreds of artistsfrom around the world.

John Addison, owner of the Addison Arrsgallery in Santa Fe, wancs to show us just

how vital the medium has become again.For this show of some of his favorite printscreated at the Tamarind Institute, he has

selected what he describes as "provocative

representational" work. One of his criteriawas that even the abstract pieces have a

narrattve. Many of the prints, such as

Chinese immigrant Hung Liu's Sisten inAnm, terd toward a strong political story.

Others are playful, such as the amusinglithographs ofLlliana Porter, who attachesj-D stuffed animal heads to her work. Each

of the works emits a pulse vigorous enough

to prove that lithography is once agatnaliveand well.-D olora McE lrolt

Addison Arts, Thmarind Institute Prints.

Sep 16-0ct 15. Reception Sep 16, 5*7. 209Galisteo, Santa Fe. 505-992-0704. Mon--Sat

1 0-5, Sun 1 1 -3. wttw.addislnarts. czm.

Tamarind Institute

(t t;-..r tfr

^ \*l

Tony Fitzpatrick. Hero4S-color Iithograph w/chine-col 16, 19k x 15h"

66 SEPTEMBER 2OO5