art
PROFILE
masterpieces in miniature small-scale works light up a holiday show by B a r ba ra Ty ne r
Great things come in small packages at Manitou Galleries’ Holiday Small Works Show. Hot cider, live music, and the glow of farolitos warm body and soul, but the art warms the heart. The eclectic gallery specializes in figurative painting and sculpture, and this show features more than 20 of its artists’ works in intimate miniature. “This is a popular show that we do every year,” says Frank Rose, an art consultant at Manitou. “All the other galleries on the street have openings at the same time, and so many people come out to celebrate, regardless of the cold. It’s such a warm and festive atmosphere.” Forget “suitcase art”; some of these works—perfect for gift-giving, Rose notes—are small enough to slip into a Fendi. But they’re little jewels with great big presence and personality, and that’s not easy to pull off. Small works need big voices. Good miniaturists capture our attention, create drama and character, beckon us a wee bit closer. Suddenly, we’re hooked. Painter Tom Perkinson masters the mighty on the small scale. His soft pastel and watercolor works hum with the warmth and quiet majesty of the sun-stained Southwest landscape. His soft-focus vistas in melty, confectionary colors make windows superfluous. Perkinson depicts winter scenes that conjure timeless beauty, capturing what locals love most about the Southwest’s sleepy months. Animals are big (little) stars in this group show. Steve Worthington’s bronze sculptures are highly loveable, even if they’re more Dürer than Disney. His rabbits are bunchy, his frogs ribbety, his mice frolicsome, rendered through relentlessly good anatomical observation. Each carries just a tad of whimsy. Worthington’s animals are fun, perfect, and playful, and some even have little jobs as wine stoppers and shoehorns. But make no mistake: The sculptor is a serious observer of nature, even if several of his mini-mice sport wings. Jennifer O’Cualain’s paintings of sparrows, marmots, fawns, and jays carry the weight of portraiture. The works are heartwarming, generously infused with the artist’s love of all things furry, flapping, and flying. “I like that I can anthropomorphize the animals, but I don’t take it too far. I mean, I don’t put clothes on them,” she laughs. O’Cualain’s portraits are sweet, her tiny characters bright-eyed and ready to tell viewers their stories no matter the season. Holiday Small Works Show, December 7–31, reception December 7, 5–7:30 pm, Manitou Galleries, 123 W Palace, manitougalleries.com 44
santafean.com
december/january 2013
Tom Perkinson, Heading South, watercolor and mixed media, 7 x 7"
Jennifer O’Cualain, At the Dance, oil on canvas, 27 x 33"