Dissolution by Pamela Sukhum

Lately Pamela is excited to unveil & release her new series of original paintings titled “Bamboo Amongst Oaks.” These highly vibrant and detailed pieces are very textural, with several impasto layers creating depth and luminosity. There are pieces of varying sizes & palettes in this series. Many of them have already been placed with collectors.

Bamboo Amongst Oaks 25 - original by Pamela Sukhum

Pamela shared with us her inspiration for these wonderful new works:

“These pieces are about finding a sense of home and belonging. Growing up in a small Midwest town as one of the only non-white students, I often felt as if I didn’t fit in with the others…..like a Bamboo Amongst Oaks. As the years went on, I left the confines of my small town and began to explore the world. In my travels I came across many different people, ideologies, and customs, and I began to realize that nearly everyone, regardless of race, origin, or background experiences this same longing for a sense of home and belonging in their lives. It is this shared experience that connects us all.

I believe we can come to love and appreciate all the differences that make each of us truly unique “that make each of us stand and grow towards the light” like a Bamboo Amongst Oaks.”

New Bamboo Amongst Oaks
Limited Edition Released

The series is well received and in order to share more of her works with everyone, Pamela has released two limited editions with hand-embellishment.

Bamboo Amongst Oaks 3 limited edition Hand-Embellished Print on Canvas, Image Size: 36" x 24"

Bamboo Amongst Oaks 7 limited edition Hand-Embellished Print on Canvas, Image Size: 36" x 48"

These are printed on canvas and only in small edition sizes.  This is a great way to start collecting Pamela’s work since the prices are very affordable as well.

We have these beautiful originals at the gallery:

Bamboo Amongst Oaks 27, original on canvas by Pamela Sukhum

and

Filial Expansion, original by Pamela Sukhum

We hope you enjoy Pamela’s work.  There are still a few original paintings in this series available, contact the gallery for more information.

Ascent Of Man by Stephen Hansen

Below is the Press Release from New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs

18 May 2009     GOVERNOR’S ARTS AWARDS

PLEASE RELEASE IMMEDIATELY
FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact:
Doug Svetnicka, 827-4378
Department of Cultural Affairs

2009 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts

Eight artists and arts supporters will receive
New Mexico’s highest artistic honor

SANTA FE – Governor Bill Richardson and First Lady Barbara Richardson, along with the New Mexico Arts Commission, have announced the eight artists and arts supporters who will be recipients of the 2009 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts.

“Arts and cultural activities define New Mexico as they do few other places in the world,” said Governor Richardson. “I am very proud of these exceptional artists and contributors, and I applaud the important work they do in our communities each and every day.”

First Lady Barbara Richardson said, “The Governor and I urge all New Mexicans to join us in applauding this year’s Arts Awards winners.  Their works contribute significantly to the cultural life of our state and remind us why this is the Land of Enchantment.”

The 2009 Governor’s Arts Awards recipients are:  Stephen Hansen of Las Cruces for Sculpture; Tom Joyce of Santa Fe for Blacksmithing and Sculpture; Joseph Lonewolf of Santa Clara Pueblo for Pottery; Carmella Padilla of Santa Fe for Literary Arts; Edward Vega of Albuquerque for Sculpture; Elaine Wiggins Howe of Roswell – Major Contributor to the Arts; William A. Miller of Santa Fe – Major Contributor to the Arts; and Pasatiempo, the Santa Fe New Mexican’s Arts and Entertainment Magazine – Major Contributor to the Arts.

The 2009 Governor’s Arts Awards ceremonies will be held on Friday evening, September 25, 5:15 to 7:00 pm at the St. Francis Auditorium, New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe.  The ceremony is preceded by an afternoon reception and exhibition opening, 3:30 – 4:30 pm, in the Governor’s Gallery, 4th Floor, State Capitol.  Both the awards ceremony and gallery reception are free and open to the public.

The Governor’s Arts Awards were established in 1974 by Governor Bruce King and First Lady Alice King to celebrate the enormous roles – both economic and cultural – that artists, craftspeople and arts supporters play in the life of New Mexico.  During its 36-year existence, a diverse and prestigious list of painters, weavers, sculptors, dancers, musicians, storytellers, poets, actors, playwrights and potters have been honored.  Past awardees include Georgia O’Keeffe, Laura Gilpin, Max Evans, Wilson Hurley, Joy Harjo, Bill Mauldin, John Nichols, Pablita Velarde and Cipriano Vigil.

Nominations for the awards are invited each year from arts groups and interested New Mexicans.  All nominations are reviewed by a committee of the New Mexico Arts Commission, which sends its recommendations to the full Commission and to the Governor.  The 2009 Awards Selection Committee consisted of Charmay Allred of Santa Fe as Chairperson, Bob Cooper of Albuquerque, Glenn Cutter of Mesilla, John Rohovec of Silver City, Janice Spence of Hobbs, who chairs the New Mexico Arts Commission, and Chuck Zimmer, manager of the state public art program for New Mexico Arts.   Loie Fecteau, executive director of New Mexico Arts, and program manager Virginia Castellano served on the committee in a nonvoting capacity.

The following are brief profiles of the 2009 Governor’s Arts Awardees:

Most artists would not want their work described as a “laugh-out-loud experience.”  But for Las Cruces papier-maché sculptor Stephen Hansen, those who laugh hard at his clever and humorous characters are paying him high respect.

Balanced Diet by Stephen Hansen

“As an artist, I’m not an explorer of the human condition so much as a hapless tourist,” says Hansen, who grew up in Seattle, lived most of his life in Kalamazoo and moved with his family to the Las Cruces area in 1989.

Hansen’s meticulous papier-maché – please note that these are not your typical childhood wet newspaper creations – cartoon-like creatures are known all over the world and spice up many a museum and corporate collection from the Capitol Art Foundation Collection in Santa Fe to the Jyukano Research Institute in Tokyo, from United States Embassies in Italy and Venezuela to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

High Maintenance by Stephen Hansen

Inspirations for Hansen’s work often emerge from a play on words, a common phrase or a bit of conversation.  His sculpture “High Maintenance” is typical of his humor and features a woman surrounded by a gang of workers atop a ladder and scaffolding busily painting her nails, applying her makeup and combing her hair.

Playwright Mark Medoff, who received a Governor’s Arts Award in 1980, says about Hansen, “He is one of the unique artists working not only in New Mexico but in the world today.  I marvel at his mind, at where his ironic punning concepts come from, and I marvel at the execution.”

To read the rest of the full press release, click here.

Morning Lift

Waking from her dreams in the night, Linda grabs her pencil and sketchbook then makes thumbnail sketches of what her visions manifest, with vivid color, sound, movement and often titles appearing with the visual event.  She is sure she wakes up because she is so excited about what she encounters.  After she draws out the image she often goes back into her dream and adds on to the painting.

Upper Deck Dodo

Linda’s paintings are a combination of animals and nature with fantasy, surrealism and often with a touch of a whimsical mood. While doing a formal sketch in the desired size of the canvas, Linda often adds fun little objects that formed fond memories in her past. These added little objects make the paintings very personal and dear to her heart. Her favorite item that often shows up in her work are brass bells.

Humming Bosch by Linda Herzog

In childhood she and her sister collected little brass bells from a downtown store that was a treat to visit. Linda also likes to add objects of symbolism to create more depth in the meaning behind her paintings.  But she often admits that she just painted what she saw in her dream because she liked the visual though it has no sense behind it.

The technique of her paintings is a self taught method of layering and glazes. Some of her objects have up to 7 layers and drying time in between them.  Linda usually has up to 5 paintings going at a time.

So there you have it.  What has Linda Herzog been up to lately?  Capturing dreams, of course!

Fine Art Collecting – A New Form of Investment?

Fine art, continues to be a favorite son of today’s investment market and it is becoming more main stream than ever.  I was a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) and a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) in the private sector.  My company managed over 100 million dollars on a cash basis in the financial market for hundreds of clients.  The first thing that we always tell our clients is “past performance is not Indicative of future results”.   Yes, historically investment in fine art has yield better returns than the financial market and yes we see that potential continue to exist.  However, nothing is fool proof, anyone who tells you that there is no risk associated with purchasing fine art as an investment, frankly, does not have your best interests in mind.

As with any investment, there are always risks involved, be that of depreciation of assets or liquidity of the market.  What defines a good investment is one that has reasonable “calculated risk” with good upside potential.  For a short term investment you are also looking at good liquidity, meaning, how easy it is to get out of your investment position.  But a “suitable” investment for one client is not necessarily suitable for another.  During the time that I was a money manager, it was not uncommon that we would turn down a client who was willing to pay for our service. This occurred when we felt the investment profile did not match our client’s risk profile and needs or, that the risk exposure was outside of their means (which I will address later).

Jack Storms Cut Glass Art Sculptures has high value at beginning prices that are very affordable.

We can all see that fine art has traditionally out-performed the S&P 500 as a long term investment and many auction houses continue to make record sales.  However, fine art investing is not typically appropriate for the short term. When compared to traditional investment vehicles such as stocks, options, mutual funds, and commodity and futures market, it is definitely not as liquid.  This is true because the masses have not yet realized collecting art is lucrative.

This incredible black and white fine art photograph by Phil Borges has doubled in price since it was sold out...

With these things said, is fine art a good investment?  Yes.  It has out-performed the financial market historically and we have seen the trend of its continuing appreciation.  An original work of fine art is not something that can be duplicated.  Therefore, there is a value associated with that.  This is particularly true when the artist is being recognized collectively by a broad audience.

Fine Art is the only investment vehicle that I know of that can, through aesthetics changes people’s life, increase the quality of life and even improve productivity.  Many companies have found that by providing their employee with a harmonious and beautifully inspired environment, the productivity of the employees go way up and, if the investment is smart, the value of their art collection also goes up.  Sometimes the art collection in a company is worth more than the value of the company as a business.  It’s kind of like a restaurant’s wine collection is worth many times the value of just the business.  Did you know that the world renowned San Diego Wild Animal Park’s botanical asset is actually worth more than the value of the animal collection that they had?  Further, there are more fine art works in corporate collections than private collections.  Many companies use it as a means to diversify their investment portfolio. If you have a business, consult your accountant about the possibility of writing off or depreciating the cost of the purchase as well for additional tax benefit.  There may also be other tax benefits to owning and investing in art.

Serge Marshennikov's Original Female Oil Portraits have been sold through important art auctions, including famous Christie’s of London and Bonham's in Knightsbridge. His work is in much demand and his prices are constantly rising.

Does fine art investment have risk associated with it?  Absolutely.  You can experience depreciation at times especially if you are trying to sell it quickly. There are a number of factors that come into play, and understanding those component factors are key to success.

Is fine art a suitable investment for me?  Well, this depends on many factors: 1. What is the source of funds that you are using to make this investment?  2. What is your investment time frame? 3.  How liquid are your other assets? 4. Would it devastate you financially if you are not able to liquidate your position?  These factors are actually all inter-related.

Fine art investment is a intermediate to long term investment so please do not use money that you need to pay your bills to make an investment.  Also, in order to liquidate your position (sell your artwork), you would likely go to an auction house or the original dealer, and sometimes even through private sales.  It can sometimes it can take months or even longer to sell the work.   If any of these things would put you at great risk, then it is probably not for you.

So if you are ready to include some fine art in your life to increase the quality of your life and to enjoy the potential benefit of the appreciation, don’t forget to contact your art consultant so that they can guide you through the process of establish your collection that is best suited for your needs and style, be it glass art, original paintings, whether contemporary or traditional, or even sculptures.  We have seen quite a few artists whose works have appreciated consistently over the last few years, if you love art, why shouldn’t you benefit from the appreciation?

Contemporary Chinese artist Hu Jundi's paintings have also been successfully auctioned in China.