Exhibit
at Max Art Gallery, 1993
The Environment in Our Own Backyard
MAX ART Gallery
will be hosting a new exhibit, The
Environment In Our Own Backyard, featuring the watercolor paintings of
Mary Helsaple from Sept. 24th - Nov.
6th, 1993.
The opening
reception is Friday
September 24th from 5-8:00 P.M.
As a special
event, owners Judith Metz and Linda Heath-Morlan of MAX ART Gallery will set
a new standard by presenting an up-close and personal conversations with the
exhibiting artists, Mary Helsaple, Santiago Perez, and Judith Metz about, Making a statement with
your art.
Helsaple will
discuss how she incorporates her concern about for the environment into her
painting. Judith Metz
will discuss the psychological connection between art and the subject.
Santiago Perez will talk about how he utilizes symbolism in his
paintings.
The Max Art Gallery
will be presenting Helsaple's watercolor paintings for the first time in the
gallery. The paintings
like; "Wishful Thinking", "California Condor",
"Conscious Choice" and "Close Encounter" raise the
question "How is it possible to live in harmony with nature in our own
backyard?"
Helsaple states;
"I feel compelled to express the relationships I see between people and
animals. But you might not find these relationships occurring naturally.
For example the magpie in who is holding a Colorado lottery ticket, while a curious
antelope watches. I put them together to make a point, and to challenge the viewer to see things
from a new perspective".
General Background on featured artist
Mary Helsaple
Helsaple currently
lives in Manitou Springs
In 1990, the Aqua Planet Gallery in Japan included one of her paintings in a postcard
book encouraging peace and global environmental awareness. Her photos from the rainforest have been published in
Time magazine
and in the natural history book, Peru's Amazonian Eden: Manu National Park and Biosphere
Reserve.
Helsaple's artwork
has been shown in juried exhibitions throughout the United States.
In the fall of 1991, her series of paintings, depicting the native
people and wildlife of the rainforest, was shown in conjunction with the
Smithsonian's Rainforest exhibit, A Disappearing Treasure, at the Denver Museum of Natural History.
