This two-man show, “Constant State of Change,” during Spring Gallery Walk on May 12, 2017 features plein air landscape painter Stephen Day and Navajo jeweler and silversmith Ray Tracey. Opening reception is from 5:00-7:00 pm at Sorrel Sky Gallery’s downtown location at 828 Main Ave. The show continues throughout the month of May.
Stephen Day lives and works in the Southwest, where he is renowned for his plein air paintings of the local landscape. Painting the beauty of his natural environment is Day’s ‘first love,’ and he frequently paints on location using the smaller works as studies for larger paintings completed in the studio. Born in Wyoming, Day has lived in some of the most breathtaking landscapes in the West including Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Durango and Aspen, Colorado. When he discovered painting, he found a vehicle to express the unique variety and intense beauty of the land that has surrounded him during his lifetime. “I paint almost exclusively from life trying to capture the feeling and the mood of the subject before me.”
Ray Tracey is one of today’s most recognized contemporary Navajo jewelers due to his rootedness in the Navajo jewelry tradition while firmly embracing contemporary designs and techniques. Whether using traditional materials like turquoise set in stamped silver or crafting intricate multi-stone inlays set in gold, Tracey’s inspirations come from many sources. Early in his career, he found muses in the natural world and within his Native American culture. Today, with decades of successful artistic production under his belt and 60+ years of living, his creativity is now sourced, too, from a deep appreciation for being alive. “As I have gotten older, life has become more dear to me. I am now more in tune with intangible sources for my inspiration.”
Shanan Campbell Wells, owner of Sorrel Sky Gallery, admires the ability these two artist have to absorb inspiration from their surroundings, keeping their work fresh and ever-evolving. “Stephen’s paintings have a spontaneous, natural sense about them, as if you just walked into the scene yourself. With Ray’s designs, you can feel his willingness to embrace an unexpected inspiration. Each artist is open to the influence of their surroundings, open to the new directions their work may take, open to life’s constant state of change.”
Sorrel Sky Gallery’s fresh approach to Western art offers a select collection of contemporary and traditional fine art and jewelry for the discerning art enthusiast. Sorrel Sky Gallery was founded in Durango, CO in 2002, opening its second location in Santa Fe, NM in 2014. Representing over 90 painters, sculptors and jewelers, including bronze artist Star Liana York, painter Kevin Red Star, and jewelry artist Ben Nighthorse, among others.