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TEMPO Arts and Entertainment  June 7-13, 2001

UNDER THE INFLUENCE 

John Farnsworth said he was stuck in a rut, that is until he saw a book featuring works by Georgia O'Keeffe

 

By Eric J. Hedlund

The Taos News

John Farnsworth, Under the Influence, oil, 36" x 48"

Painter John Farnsworth pays homage to Georgia O’Keeffe and her profound influence on his art in a new show titled "Under the Influence."

The show opens with a reception Saturday (June 9) from 6 to 8 p.m. at Farnsworth Gallery-Taos, 110 Paseo del Pueblo Norte.

 

Farnsworth, who has been making a living as a painter for 30 years, said he often paints in series, creating variations on a particular subject matter, be they bones, flowers, fruit or others. Which can certainly be a good thing. He said it allows for deep and varied exploration of a subject or theme and, as the series progresses, can lead to the discovery of nuances that might not become evident in a stand-alone work.

 

But it can also lead to mere repetition of the same thing, and as Farnsworth found out, one can have too much of a good thing.

 

In 1976, Farnsworth said he had been painting Native American subjects for about 12 years, doing roughly the same work. Then he saw in a bookstore the first published large-format book of O’Keeffe paintings.

 

"It stopped me in my tracks," he said.

 

He was so impressed with O’Keeffe’s work, he said it jarred him out of his artistic complacency.

 

"I was kind of in a rut, and she knocked me out of that rut," he said.

 

What struck a chord with him was the honesty of O’Keeffe’s work and how she was able to convey her true response to her subject matter, whether it was a New York City skyscraper or a cow skull.

 

O’Keeffe’s influence is very evident in some of the pieces to be exhibited in the upcoming show. Skulls, bones, antlers and flowers, many larger than life, are spread out against the canvases in soft detail. The title piece of the show, "Under the Influence," is a large acrylic still life, with an apple and ristra set before an enormous cow skull, set against the backdrop of a dark blue sky.

 

That larger-than-life quality was one of O’Keeffe’s trademarks, although Farnsworth said he may have picked up that tendency a long time before he was aware of O’Keeffe’s work.

 

Thea Swengel, director of Farnsworth Gallery Taos and who also happens to be married to the artist, said when he was a child his parents would often send him with a babysitter to the movies. He became used to seeing people, things and places enlarged far beyond reality, because of all those days spent in movie theaters.

 

Swengel said large images appeal to Farnsworth because of their intimacy, how they draw in viewers, making them feel as though they’re "in" the painting. That quality is certainly typified by his large paintings of horses, their heads gathered close together, gazing outward.

 

The work to be exhibited roughly spans the last 10 years of Farnsworth’s work, the oldest being his antler and serape series from the early 1990s, the newest works he’s completed this year.

 

Farnsworth works in oils, acrylics and pastels, but his greatest love is watercolor, because of its direct spontaneity, its immediate response to the subject matter he’s painting.

 

"It comes in your eyes, and it comes out your fingers," he said.

 

Farnsworth once characterized the difference between media by saying an oil was a novel and a watercolor was a poem, Swengel said.

 

"I think it’s a thrill for (Farnsworth)," she said. "With oil and acrylic, he’s totally in control. With watercolor, some of that control is taken away."

"Under the Influence" continues through the end of June.  

Call 758-0776, or visit http://www.johnfarnsworth.com on the internet.

Reception

Saturday (June 9), 2001, 6-8 p.m.,

Farnsworth Gallery Taos

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