ANNELL LIVINGSTON Lights Shadows Reflections by Amy Cowart, Archivist

A N N E L L LIVINGSTON Lights Shadows Reflections

In memory of my son, James Henry Livingston and my nephews and niece, Derek, Lance and Michelle Steele

A N N E L L LIVINGSTON Lights Shadows Reflections

Essay by D. M. ALLISON

W INTEROWD F INE A RT, S ANTA F E , N EW M EXICO

Lights Shadows Reﬂections 014, 2023, 22 x 22 inches, Vinyl emulsion, acrylic on black paper

A N N E L L LIVINGSTON

demand our attention. Livingston's paintings beckon

Lights Shadows Reflections

and we must follow. Some consider Pattern and Decoration to be the

ESSAY

At this time, post internet, we travel an information

“last movement in American art,” and it is worth

highway across a cultural landscape that is littered

taking a look at that work when considering Living-

with everything that has ever been, what is now, and

ston’s contributions today. P&D stands as a pivotal

with at least two lanes of trafﬁc dedicated to the fu-

moment that questioned established norms in the

ture of what will be. It is a challenging if not over-

late 1970s — a rebellious force that challenged the

whelming thoroughfare where any direction, and any

dominance of Minimalism and Conceptualism and

turn seems to be about as valid as the next.

introduced an array of global patterns into the artistic

In modern times, dating back to Ambroise Vol-

lexicon. Embracing elements from textiles, ceramics,

lard and D.H. Kahnweiler, there has always been a

and even Americana like quilting and embroidery,

contest of the "isms" and “movements” vying for

P&D shattered distinctions between high and low art.

ﬁrst place on the track of truth and popularity racing

Amy Goldin, along with artists like Robert Kushner

headlong to the next captious ﬁnish line. While la-

and Kim McConnel, contributed to the movement's

beling anything as nebulous as “ﬁne art” seems like

vitality and diversity, exploring the interplay of pat-

a fool’s errand, we still need deﬁnitions if we speak

terns, and embracing inclusivity.

of it at all. So, let’s ﬁnd a couple of road signs. Two

Roberta Smith, writing in the New York Times

artistic movements that come to mind in relation to

on Aug. 5, 2021, states “P&D offered ravishing

Annell Livingston's work are the Pattern and Dec-

alternatives to mainstream art in both New York and

oration (P&D) movement and the Op Art movement.

Los Angeles (it was bicoastal) and to the general

These are only referred to here for our own reference

manliness of modernism. It disdained divisions be-

as Livingston’s quest has been solivagant, and a path

tween Western and Non-Western art; high and low

where only she can function as our guide. Con-

and art and craft.”

ﬁdence, surety, and commitment are evident over

In contrast, the playful Op Artists, with their op-

every inch of the artist's exquisitely painted surfaces.

tical illusions, challenge our visual comprehension.

The patterns the artist builds are mesmerizing and

Annell Livingston's tightly gridded abstractions may

evoke the Op Art frenzy of the 1960s, but a closer

Livingston’s geometrics are inﬂuenced by time

Downtown campus. Another iteration of this body

troduced diagonal lines to her grid-work while in

examination reveals a deeper exploration of light and

spent in Houston in a studio beside a major freeway

of work was ultimately exhibited at d. m. allison on

Taos, making the work not only less expected, but

transience. Comparisons to Minimalist artists like

interchange where in her mind’s eye she would visu-

Houston’s Gallery Row.

enabling her geometric complexity to ﬂirt with the

Agnes Martin and OP artists like Bridget Riley arise,

alize the pulsing thoroughfares that grew across

In an essay written for Livingston’s show at

organic. In dialogue with the artist, Livingston clearly

highlighting both similarities and differences. While

Houston’s transportation grid during the city’s rapid

O’Kane, director Mark Cervanka poetically sums up

states her current preference for working primarily on

Martin's works maintain a solidity of form, Livingston

expansion in the 1980s. Later, after her move to New

the artist’s new body of work: “The temptation is that

paper with color-shifting vinyl emulsion after having

introduces dynamic movement through color changes

Mexico, Livingston evolved again, and true to form

there is more to the experience than meets the eye;

painted with gouache for more than a decade. De-

that defy predictability. Riley’s work compares not

her work would reﬂect her new surroundings in the

and, despite mathematics and our best efforts to ra-

scribing herself as a hard-edged painter, she discusses

only as a woman who overcame the conventions of

light, color, and quiet strength she found in the land-

tionalize our perceptions, we remain confounded at

her transition from the urban-inspired grids of the

the day but the visual ﬁreworks that take place for

scapes of New Mexico. She continued to recall the

what stands before us. Livingston’s paintings are joyful

early 1990s to the addition in the 2010s of the ran-

the viewer. Livingston’s structured grid becomes a

grid, channeling an inner voice that manifested in her

in this way, allowing the viewer to ﬁrst feel comfort-

dom diagonal lines that distinguish her Taos work.

canvas for the unknown, balancing structure, form,

work the ever-changing nature of a life she found

able in approaching the compositions and then fol-

In the October, 2016 Under the Rader column in

and the nebulous.

along her journey.

lowing a seemingly magical path of unknown shifts

the online arts blog, Vasari 21, Art Critic Ann Landi

Annell Livingston's sixty-year artistic odyssey

After her move from the urban density of Hous-

in one or several layers of color. They celebrate,

writes of “[Livingston’s] tendency toward reducing

rejected the societal expectations of the small, con-

ton to the high desert, and despite personal chal-

equally, that part of humanity that is the scientist at-

images to their most basic components, she (Living-

servative town of La Porte, Texas where she grew up

lenges — including the loss of her husband in 1993

tempting to understand and ground perceptual ex-

ston) says, ‘The simpler something is, the more the

in the 1950s. Rather than be limited by the narrow

— Livingston found strength and solace in the work

perience, and the matrix of human sensation that

doors open to creativity. You think, I’m sure I’ll get

career options available to women in that era, she

of Agnes Martin. In 2015, Poems of the Desert, her

approaches the emotional, spiritual, or perhaps simply

tired of this pretty soon,and then you see new possi-

pursued her passion for painting. Moving ﬁrst to

ﬁrst body of New Mexican works, was exhibited at

the unexplainable. Each hand-painted form creating

bilities.’ Like many an artist before her — one thinks

Houston in the late 1980s and eventually relocating

Melissa Morgan Fine Art in Palm Springs, California,

a perfect geometric shape is a microcosm of this bal-

of Mondrian or Josef Albers — Livingston has discov-

to Taos in the mid-‘90s, Livingston's journey reﬂects

featuring a ﬁrst glimpse of the shapes and colors in-

ance suggesting the breadth of human experience.”

ered that, almost paradoxically, limiting the parame-

her resilience and determination. Her artistic evolu-

spired by this new landscape. Poems of the Desert

Livingston's meticulous, hard-edged, gridded

tion, from urban grids to the enchanting landscapes

marked the ﬁrst half of a poignant chapter in her

paintings set her apart in a digital age dominated by

James Turrell once said “My work has no object,

of New Mexico, encapsulates the diverse, ever-

artistic evolution. The second chapter came full circle,

precision. Her hand-painted shapes create optical il-

no image, and no focus. With no object, no image,

changing nature of creativity. In a world inundated

returning to Houston later in the year with her exhi-

lusions reminiscent of Op Art, and yet she distin-

and no focus, what are you looking at? You are look-

with information, this artist reminds us of the beauty

bition Fragments of Geometry and Change in the

guishes herself by introducing dynamic color shifts,

ing at you looking. What is important to me is to

found in embracing patterns, both in art and life.

O'Kane Gallery on the University of Houston’s

adding an element of unpredictability. The artist in-

create an experience of wordless thought.” In con-

ters can expand your horizons.”

III

templating Livingston's art, I see works relative to

agonal line which allows me to think of the landscape

James Turrell's light installations. Both artists chal-

of New Mexico; rivers, mountains, and sky. It is not

lenge perceptions with elements that defy immediate

that I expect the viewer to see what I see, but it is to

comprehension. Livingston's paintings invite viewers

explain where my inspiration comes from. As I organ-

to peer through grids of color, obscuring a mystery,

ize forms in space my mind travels, and dreams of

embracing both the scientiﬁc and emotional aspects

far-away places and other worlds."

of perception. This perception for the viewer evokes

Annell Livingston has had many solo shows

a feeling, an emotional poetry that deﬁes description

throughout the Southwest, in Palm Desert, California,

and must be experienced in quiet time spent before

and Gunma, Japan. She has recently participated in

the artist’s work.

juried group shows in New York, California, Texas, and Maryland.

Quoting Livingston about her most recent body of work: "Though I have worked in many mediums,

– D.M. Allison, January 20, 2024

I have chosen to work primarily on paper; painting and drawing. My choice of medium now is vinyl emulsion. I am a hard-edge painter. I have been seriously working with grids since the early nineties. When I lived in Houston, I worked with grids made up of squares. I thought of the grid as a metaphor for the urban experience. My studio was downtown, the sounds that came into my studio were sounds of trucks, buses and cars, the sounds from the freeway. The work was based on the observation of the 'light' in the city, reﬂected off of man-made materials." The artist goes on to say, "Upon moving to Taos, New Mexico, it was the addition of the random diagonal line, which creates compositions of squares, triangles, and some unexpected shapes. It is the di-

PAINTINGS

Lights Shadows Reﬂections 001, 2023, 21 by 21 inches, Vinyl emulsion, acrylic on 300 lb. w/c paper.

Lights Shadows Reﬂections 021, 2023, 22 by 22 inches, Vinyl emulsion, acrylic on 300 lb. w/c paper.

Lights Shadows Reﬂections 028, 2023, 30 by 30 inches, Vinyl emulsion, acrylic on 300 lb. w/c paper.

Lights Shadows Reﬂections 015, 2023, 22 by 22 inches, Vinyl emulsion, acrylic on 300 lb. w/c paper.

Lights Shadows Reﬂections 006, 2023, 22 by 22 inches, Vinyl emulsion, acrylic on 300 lb. w/c paper.

Lights Shadows Reﬂections 023, 2023, 25.5 by 25.5 inches, Vinyl emulsion, acrylic on 300 lb. w/c paper.

Lights Shadows Reﬂections 027, 2023, 30 by 30 inches, Vinyl emulsion, acrylic on 300 lb. w/c paper.

Lights Shadows Reﬂections 002, 2023, 21 by 21 inches, Vinyl emulsion, acrylic on 300 lb. w/c paper.

Lights Shadows Reﬂections 035, 2023, 22 by 22 inches, Vinyl emulsion, acrylic on 300 lb. w/c paper.

Lights Shadows Reﬂections 8326, 2024, 22 x22 inches, Vinyl emulsion, acrylic on 300 lb. w/c paper.

Lights Shadows Reﬂections 011, 2023, 22 by 22 inches, Vinyl emulsion, acrylic on 300 lb. w/c paper.

WHY PAINT?

I come to the studio each day

I dip my brush into the paint

without promise of wages or praise

and I think of you this is not an activity

only curiosity, what will this day bring?

Designed at The Fisher Press by Christopher W. Benson a place to be

it is the life of a painter

dipping back into the paint

in the beginning

paint to the surface

Text set in Whitney Book, Italic and Light fonts

I didn’t know

now it is more clear

With an essay by D. M. Allison

it is a “place”

what will be?

if it was a painting

A N N E L L LIVINGSTON Lights Shadows Reflections

I do not ask permission what am I making?

Endpaper image: Lights Shadows Reflections, 018, 22”x22”

who will I be?

Vinyl emulsion, gouache, acrylic on 300 lb. w/c paper

I look carefully Published by W INTEROWD F INE A RT, Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2024

take temperature make judgements

I try not to judge too quickly making room for what is new seen for the ﬁrst time

— Annell Livingston

D. M. Allison (Dan Mitchell Allison), biography “It's a gift and my continued occupation, to wake up every morning and think of something new." Dan Allison, an activist, gallery owner, and studio director in Houston, Texas, first gained recognition as a Texas printmaker in the 1980s. He furthered his global reputation by winning the international Grand Prix of graphic arts in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia in 1987, which led to solo exhibitions in the U.S., Japan, Italy, and former Yugoslavia. Allison is also known for his philanthropy, forming a Texas based 501 C3 out-reach organization, he ARM (Artist Rescue Mission) to raise funds and deliver relief supplies in 1993 during Yugoslavia's civil war. He collaborated with the Sarajevo Trio, a group known for humanitarian efforts, and coordinated with the international award-winning Oslobodjenje news service in Sarajevo. In 2001, Allison founded Texas Collaborative Arts, with support from art collector Gus Kopriva and his wife and artist Sharon Kopriva at their Redbud Gallery complex in Houston, Texas. Texas Collaborative Arts completed over 100 projects with established Texas artists but most significantly during this time, a 10-year digital collaboration occurred with artist Nancy Kienholz. With her help, and art historians David Brauer and Jim Edwards, Allison established his first gallery in 2007, the Nau-haus in Houston's Heights district. A second gallery, DM Allison, was founded in 2011 on Houston's Gallery Row. The gallery exhibited works from notable artists including Rick Lowe, Mel Chin, and New York's Cora Cohen. In 2016, Allison retired from public life but continues to aid artists and collectors as an archivist. His recent work involves creating content with the Wikipedia Federation.

701 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 992-8878 info@fineartsantafe.com https://fineartsantafe.com

ANNELL LIVINGSTON Lights Shadows Reflections

Articles inside

ESSAY