In August the Goldenstein Gallery explores the symbolic power of color with the artworks of ColorFest at the gallery and satellite exhibits throughout Sedona.

We live in a world filled with color. It can evoke a mood and the colors we surround ourselves with directly influence the way we feel. Artists have a personal relationship with color, often using it consciously to communicate meaning in their work. It enhances the ambiance of a piece, powerfully supporting the atmosphere created by the artist.

One of they first things that draws viewers into Sherab Khandro’s pointillist paintings is the vibrancy of her color palette. She is a master at the use of colors, deliberately setting them side-by-side to either excite or calm the hue.

Pointillism uses pure colors, rather than blending shades, allowing the viewers’ eyes to naturally blend into hue, making use of the innate impact that colors have on each other.

LauRha Frankfort, a multimedia artist, musician and one of only five certified Qi Gong instructors in Phoenix, uses Qi Gong theory to create her intriguing pieces. According to Frankfort, specific colors and material heal. She paints the human form, mostly female, blending color along the body’s energy lines that correspond to certain body parts.

Qi Gong emphasizes natural and holistic healing and the technique of building, increasing and directing the energy of the body, mind and spirit. She says her goal is to spread joy and expression.

Susan Makura is renowned for her paintings of cairns. Her pieces are collected internationally; one hangs on the wall of the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal. Her fascination with cairns began in Sedona in 2000 where she saw them as she was hiking and was compelled to explore their meaning.

“All over the world, from ancient times to present, people have built cairns,” Makura said. “They mark a significant place or tomb, serve as communication, mark a trail, or have a religious purpose. Cairns allow us to ponder the balance of life.”

She works to capture the true essence of the Sedona red rocks in her paintings. One cannot see it in a photograph, but Sedona’s red rocks glitter in the sunlight because of the large amount of silica in them. To create this glowing effect, Makura creates metallic textures in her pieces using acrylic gel media applied by the palette knife.

Balance, connectivity and spirituality are the attributes the Ben Wright strives for both in his life and paintings. Part Cherokee, he draws from American Indian ceremony, symbolism and tradition in his compelling pieces. He uses powerful imagery, juxtaposed with bold colors and neutrals, in combination with a sophisticated glazing technique.

The finished works hold a special vitality and eloquent voice that calls the viewer into a centered peace.

James Cook’s paintings are big and gutsy, full of virtuosity, with lavish, vigorous and confident brush strokes. He creates unexpected textures and colors, inviting the viewer closer to the vast splendor of his subjects.

“Cook’s deliciously buttery paint charges outward into a third dimension,” Margaret Regan of Tucson Weekly said.
“Thick swaths of glossy oils — blue against beige, yellow over forest green, rooms on maroon — rush across the linen with nary a thought for cowboy cliché. Stand up close, and you can’t imagine that these wild brushstrokes are anything but random, the work of an abstractionist in tune with his automatic muse. Take a step back to view some of the Southwest’s most iconic landscapes.”

The public is invited to see these new works, intriguing sculpture, paintings, sculpted metal bells, jewelry and kaleidoscopes by renowned local and regional artists at the opening reception for ColorFest on Friday, Aug. 4, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Visit GoldensteinArt.com for more information on their artists, artwork, exhibitions, artists in residence and events. Sign up for the monthly e-zine or call 204-1765. Open daily, Goldenstein Gallery is at 150 State Route 179, at the corner of state routes 179 and 89A.