Virginia Maitland, Orlin Helgoe, Meghan Wilbar & Ann Yaegar: through August 22, 2009
Virignia Maitland
Virginia Maitland, a Boulder-based artist, is one of the state’s most acclaimed. Maitland first caught the eye of the Colorado art world in the 1980s with her immense, abstract, color field paintings. “My paintings are large,” says Maitland, a nationally renowned abstract expressionist. “I put the canvas on the floor and start pouring paint, lifting and tilting. It is a very physical process.” This exhibit presents a glimpse into Maitland’s vibrant yet ethereal style. Maitland’s masterful marriage of color and form has been influenced by the great tradition of Abstract Expressionists and color field painters, as well as the haunting yet bold beauty of Colorado and the West. Maitland’s powerful paintings evoke emotions ranging from chaotically violent to serenely calm. Disguised spaces within the color fields craft the illusion of windows into an alternate reality. Recent works integrate photographs from her visits to New York City, evolving into expressive and more representational statements of memory, time and place. This exhibition offers the combination of early and recent work to give the viewer a peek into the evolution of her style. The luminal quality of Maitland’s paintings unites old and new styles and transports her work into the sublime.
Orlin Helgoe
Orlin Helgoe was one of Pueblo’s most well-known and eccentric artists. He was enraptured by the prairie—a subject that dominated most of his paintings. Much of Helgoe’s artistic expression may have stemmed from his childhood experiences. He was born in Billings, Mont., in 1930 and was raised on a ranch. The vast skies and spacious prairies influenced his work. He received his MFA in Studio Art, from Cornell University, in 1962. That same year, he was appointed as a professor for the Art Department in Pueblo, Colo., at what was then called Southern Colorado State College, now called Colorado State University- Pueblo. He had a significant influence on Southern Colorado’s Modern and Contemporary art scene as a painter, teacher and mentor. He died in March of 1982, but his unique, artistic style still lives on.
Meghan Wilbar & Ann Yaegar
Ann Yaeger’s art shows a range of exciting paintings that involve studies of light, shadow and reflection. Yaegar received her MFA from Washington University in St. Louis. Yaeger is proficient in painting us
ing watercolor, acrylic and oil. Her paintings range from minimalistic, monochromatic still lifes and colorful macro views of plants to her most recent still life paintings. The macro plants, as well as her recent still life paintings, take on an abstracted quality but are actually very realistic. The paintings are unique, colorful and exciting.
Meghan Wilbar is becoming known for her colorful, abstract expressionist, oil paintings. Wilbar received her MFA from the New York Studio School and has since been living in New York as a painter. Prior to moving to New York City, Wilbar painted loose, air landscapes and cityscapes. The paintings were studies of light, shape, color, texture and place. While in New York City, Wilbar's focus shifted to a committed abstract expressionist style. Her new paintings are still studies of light, shape, color and texture, although it is now more abstract. The observant viewer will still recognize the paintings as landscapes and cityscapes but will see Wilbar's skillful touch in capturing the places she paints. Many of these works of art are of Pueblo and the Southern Colorado area.
Visit this local exhibits on the first, second and third floor foyer galleries
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