THE EXOTIC SUBLIME, on the wing, TOHONO CHUL GALLERIES
November 16 - February 5, 2024
7366 N. Paseo del Norte, Tucson, AZ 85704 

FLORA & FAUNA
Little Gallery at the DeGrazia Foundation
December 3rd - 15, 2023

​

After arriving in the Sonoran Desert just a couple of months before the shutdown I felt fortunate to have the time to explore the effects of this new place on my work as a painter. There the light, humidity, and cultural influences feels so disparate from what I am accustomed to. I find the natural color palette, beguiling flora, and the sense of distance very different and arresting.

It is invigorating to try something new. My husband, Mark, and I are experimenting with splitting our time between the Catalina Foothills near Tucson, and the North Oregon coast. We enjoy the contrast between our home overlooking Nehalem Bay and the ocean, and this new place in Arizona’s Old Pueblo. It is in a lush desert region, ringed by mountain ranges, and bejeweled with saguaros. In both places, I find it gripping to look out at distances not blocked by man-made forms.

No one is unaffected by the pandemic, but being in a new environment I weathered the isolation by exploring the desert with the thirst of a newcomer. This perspective made the time feel somehow ripe for looking out at the horizon, and focusing in on my own whereabouts. With these paintings I have sought to capture these initial impressions, and delve into the evolution they inspire.

Exhibition at Russo Lee Gallery
April 5-28, 2018
805 NW 21st Avenue, Portland, OR 97209

The Russo Lee Gallery is pleased to present Formation, by gallery artist Rae Mahaffey. Mahaffey paints patterns built slowly over time, embracing both the organic and geometric. Seeing her work as a reaction to the fast-paced digital world, the artist avoids a specific narrative, leading the viewer to an experience as opposed to a quick read. Mahaffey ventures into more nature-based forms in this exhibition, inspired by time spent at Joshua Tree National Park in California. Paintings such as Formation give not only a name for the show but a directive: hard-edged shapes hold layers of drips and patterns suggestive of rocks and geology. Other works, exploring a new direction in Mahaffey’s work for the gallery, feature images that are more explicitly landscape driven. Throughout this work, Mahaffey employs her usual harmonious and adventurous color palette.

Written by Sue Taylor and in the November Issue