"Color + Abstraction" Catalogue

Royse Contemporary is proud to present Color + Abstraction, a group exhibition examining color and abstraction, reflecting upon the effects both create within artwork. Color and abstraction are brilliant tools allowing artists to freely express themselves, explore and share their vision while connecting with viewers.

As renowned artist Piet Mondrian once said, "abstract art is not the creation of another reality but the true vision of reality." These artists are utilizing abstraction as a form of expression as well as independence from artistic constraints as they explore their subject and medium.

While the emphasis on color with either the inclusion or omission of within their work is important as there is often an emotional connection and response while viewing color. "Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions," said renowned artist, Pablo Picasso.

Royse has assembled an intriguing collection of work by Arizona artists working in an array of mediums including painting, drawing, photography, and mixed media. We seek to highlight artists whose work offers a vibrancy, distinctive voice and vitality that will evoke and captivate a wide audience," remarks Royse.

This exhibition showcases the work of six noteworthy Arizona artists including: Cherie Buck-Hutchison, Gerry Groeber, Joe Ray, Daniel Shepherd, Marilyn Szabo, and Casey Wakefield. Although their works are different their approach to color and abstraction connects them.

Each artist creates their work with a unique process and approaches their work in an original way. Emphasis on color and line work draw the viewers into each work. We are thrilled to bring this talented group of artists together to, creating such energy within the exhibition with this dynamic collection of work.

Cherie Buck-Hutchison is an American artist living in Phoenix, Arizona. Buck-Hutchison is a photo and video-based artist, often incorporating other mediums into her work. She summons the use of her imagination to reorient spatial and social boundaries. Her use of layered imagery is a counteraction of the movement to invisibility that is often imposed through authoritarian practices. The lens shifts to bring the unseen into greater focus by manipulating the private onto the public landscape. Red rock configurations and canyons often appear in her imagery; a manifestation of her interest in reconciling the metaphoric interiority and exteriority of the landscape.

In this series formerly marginalized women share an intrepid role in the transformation of leadership within specific cultures. Using family photos, the women in imagery such Sisters Lead at Dinosaur National Monument are magically empowered while still allowing space for all genders. Unfolding through time and space, Buck-Hutchison’s work portrays an invented American melancholy, inviting conversation regarding contemporary women’s issues within a national identity. The enchanted southwest of the future is deftly layered into existence.

Buck-Hutchison has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Intermedia from Arizona State University. She is the former co-President of eye lounge Gallery, a collective of eleven artists in downtown Phoenix. She is a cofounder of InSight, an initiative to deepen community, cultural and artistic practices through collaborations between the visual and literary populace in Phoenix, Arizona. Her recent exhibitions include the Brownsville Art Museum, the MonOrchid, the Providence Art Club and the Appaloosa branch of Scottsdale’s Public Library.

Cherie Buck-Hutchison

Cherie Buck-Hutchison

“The Snake of Bias Seeks Entrance”

By Cherie Buck-Hutchison

Pigment Ink Photograph, 27”x24”, Framed, 2019, $1000

“Wile Mullein for the Ayers Sisters”

By Cherie Buck-Hutchison

Mixed Media Photograph, 11”x14”, Framed, 2023, $600

“Sunflower Doorway”

By Cherie Buck-Hutchison

Mixed Media Photograph, 14”x11”, Framed, 2023, $600

“Conjured”

By Cherie Buck-Hutchison

Mixed Media Photograph, 14”x11”, Framed, 2023, $600

“New Van for the Baseball Team”

By Cherie Buck-Hutchison

Mixed Media Photograph, 11”x14”, Framed, 2023, $600

“Marvelous Deer Bedroom”

By Cherie Buck-Hutchison

Mixed Media Photograph, 16”x20”, Framed, 2022, $900

Gerry Groeber

Gerry Groeber been creating art for over 30 years, beginning his artistic journey in Southern California in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Groeber was surrounded by pop culture, mid-century design, and iconic 1970’s architecture. “Having a father that was an abstract painter is now a powerful influence,” says Gerry.

“Working with acrylic on canvas and panel, my work is bold, colorful, and shows a love for classic abstracts,” declares Groeber. His work has been described as contemporary abstract with a mid-century modern vibe.

Groeber is also an Award-winning photographer who specializes in fine art landscape photography and  videography of the American Southwest. He is currently a contributing photographer for Arizona Highways Magazine. His work has graced the pages of prominent photography magazines including Outdoor Photographer and Shutterbug Magazine. Groeber currently resides in Prescott Arizona with his wife.

Gerry Groeber

By Gerry Groeber

Acrylic on Canvas, Framed, 24”x36”x1.5”, 2023, $2300

By Gerry Groeber

“Separated Series”

By Gerry Groeber

Acrylic on Canvas, Framed, 24”x30”x1.5”, 2023, $3250

“Bird of a Feather”

By Gerry Groeber

$3500

“Separated Series”

By Gerry Groeber

Acrylic on Canvas, Framed, 12”x24”x1.5”, 2023, $1250

Joe Ray

Joe Ray is a visual artist as well as a creative director, illustrator, writer and storyteller living in Scottsdale. He was born in San Luis, R.C., Sonora, Mexico and grew up in western Arizona on the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) Reservation in Poston Arizona. His work reflects a colorful bi-cultural perspective formed by the Arizona and Mexico regions. His work has been in a variety of exhibits and publications throughout the U.S. and Mexico.

Ray’s work evokes color and passion, much of his subject matter includes Corazones (hearts), which are filled with love, lust, passion and emotion. Joe’s work also features voluptuous Sirenas, as well as Angels and the occasional masked Luchador. Much of his work reflects a bicultural perspective, which was shaped by the Arizona and Mexico region, as well as the people living in this area. A small black & white television set blurred reality and imagination, as well as language for the artist. These are the people and places that have inspired him, especially the Sirenas and the Angels.

When asked about his work Ray affirms, “I’m easily inspired and amused. Growing up in rural western Arizona, I know and appreciate that this is a place with quite a bit of dust, rocks and great sunsets. Colorful sunsets make for colorful dreams, and a colorful imagination. These colors are real and filled with dreams, love, lust, passion, and emotion.”

Joe Ray

“Four Chambers”

By Joe Ray

Acrylic and Glitter on Canvas, 48”x48”, 2023, $4000

“Los Paisajes del Mistico 12”

By Joe Ray

Acrylic and Tarot Cards on Canvas, 36”x48”, 2023, SOLD

“Fuego Vuelo”

By Joe Ray

Daniel Shepherd

Daniel Shepherd is a Phoenix based artist who is creating fascinating abstract paintings and vintage collages. Shepherd developed a style he calls "Ambient Painting,” the result is his popular “Colour Box” Series. These minimalist abstract paintings utilize Acrylic paint on repurposed hand distressed wood panels. Shepherd refers to his painting technique as “Ambient Painting” working with bright and saturated colors often colliding with pastels or minimal abstractions becoming more expansive with a plaintive serenity.

Shepherd also creates “Vintage Collages” reconfiguring imagery and subjects in interesting and often unusual ways while still retaining all the grace, elegance and natural beauty of their original forms. His style is organic, combining a variety of images to create each work. Producing his collages entirely from repurposed materials really excites Shepherd because he enjoys the idea of these “things” which once served a specific use now years later reused for something completely different.

His work is included in private collections around the world and he has exhibited extensively throughout Arizona and California. His work has been featured in several publications including Phoenix New Times, and Paradise Valley Independent Newspaper.

Daniel Shepherd

“I’m OK with Confusion #1”

By Daniel Shepherd

Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas, Framed, 24”x24”, 2023, SOLD

By Daniel Shepherd

“Untitled”

By Daniel Shepherd

Acrylic on Wood Panel, Framed, 16”x24”, 2023, $700

“I’m OK with Confusion #3”

By Daniel Shepherd

Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas, Framed, 12”x12”, 2023, $600

By Daniel Shepherd

Framed,12”x18”, 2023, $425

“Girl #3”

Acrylic & Mixed Media on Wood Panel,

By Daniel Shepherd

“Girl #4”

Acrylic & Mixed Media on Wood Panel, Framed,12”x16”, 2023, $425

“Under Your Skin”

By Daniel Shepherd

Acrylic &

Media on

Panel, Framed,12”x16”, 2023, $425

Mixed

Wood

Marilyn Szabo

Marilyn Szabo is a true creative force in Arizona culture and has worked for over twenty-five years as a photographer. Her photography captures a variety of people locally and abroad, evoking a sense of nostalgia and truth. Each piece is technically crafted, emotive, and one can appreciate the strong connection and collaboration between photographer and subject. She received her Bachelors in History from Virginia Commonwealth University with a minor in Photography. As artist, curator and historian Szabo published book At Work in Arizona: the First 100, funded by Alliance Bank of Arizona featuring 168 pages including 80 of Szabo’s photographs, culminating a comprehensive fifteen year endeavor.

Her work has garnered many prestigious awards and grants. Szabo’s work can be found in many public and private collections and has been exhibited both nationally and internationally.

By Marilyn Szabo

Mixed Media Monoprint, Framed 42”x32”, 2023, $1600

“Kachina of Atonement, Willie”

By Marilyn Szabo

Mixed Media Monoprint, Framed 32”x42”, 2023, $1600

By Marilyn Szabo

Casey Wakefield

Casey Wakefield is an abstract artist who creates color impressions. She captures the essence of experiences, moments, and memories in unique and spontaneous color patterns. Her depictions express a contemplative and genuine transformation of colors, drips, and marks onto the canvas with mixed media and oil that develop into individual layers and depth within each piece of art. When viewing Casey's abstract paintings, you will see and feel an inner working that has traveled onto the canvas. She creates her artwork in her studio while listening to different genres of music, usually based on what experience or memory she is depicting.

"In the process of painting, I have found that each brushstroke is just like the journey in life, taking one step at a time towards your purpose and surprised by how you transform and evolve by trusting each step." Her paternal grandparents were raised in the Amish faith and within Casey's artwork you can see an internal reflection of their way of life in her minimalist, but purposeful approach to her abstract paintings.

Wakefield grew up in small Midwestern town in central Illinois. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Illinois State University. Wakefield has studied classical painting at the Milan Art Institute, where she discovered her passion for color and applying layers of paint and letting the process determine the outcome. Wakefield currently resides in the Gilbert with her husband and three children.

Casey Wakefield

“Bird Songs”

By Casey Wakefield

Oil & Mixed Media on Canvas, Unframed, 48”x48”, 2023, $4600

“Serene Contemplation”

By Casey Wakefield

Oil & Mixed Media on Canvas,

36”x36”, 2023, $2800

“Yellow Reflection”

By Casey Wakefield

Oil & Mixed Media on Canvas, 24”x24”, 2023, $1250

We held a wonderful Opening Reception on June 15 2, 2023 with excellent attendance and response to the exhibition. It allowed patrons an opportunity to meet the featured artists and hear more about their artistic process.

This exhibition was such an honor to curate with such a talented group of Arizona artists. The artworks they created for this exhibition are powerful, important and original.

We will work further with these artists and expand on this exhibition’s concept. Thank you for visiting and exploring ”Color + Abstraction”!