Pippin Contemporary announces Contemporary Visions, a group show this fall for Santa Fe painters Elizabeth Hahn and Gina Rossi with Oklahoma City sculptor Suzanne Wallace Mears. The artists’ work varies in style and subject but aligns through a contemporary and colorful vision, resulting in a vibrant exhibition for the fall season on Canyon Road. Contemporary Visions opens with an artist reception on Friday, September 20th from 5-7pm.

Elizabeth Hahn lives in Santa Fe where snapshots from her daily life, dreams and memories inspire her paintings’ narrative realism. Saturated color palettes and juxtaposed patterns give her work a pop art feel, while whimsical narratives draw the viewer into playful realms. Cropped perspectives of Hahn’s recurring character, typically a self-portrait, reveal journeying feet and flowing skirts as the viewer follows her on various travels and whims. Hahn says of her latest work for Contemporary Visions: “My character has gone off-the-grid to see what that can do for her lifestyle, and is also trying out some new transportation. She is planning trips and adventures alone and with her sometimes companion.”

Suzanne Wallace Mears creates kiln-formed glass sculptures that take the shape of vessels, totems and intriguing abstractions inspired by nature and antiquity. The Oklahoma artist constructs each sculpture with candy-colored glass in abstract shapes, while often layering copper, wire mesh, bits of dichroic glass and other material for added texture. When displayed, natural light adds exciting complexities to each piece. “The joy of glass is the light that plays through the piece,” says Mears. “As the time of day changes, so does the art. It never stays exactly the same. It’s a delightful, challenging dance.”

Gina Rossi’s personal experiences in nature inspire her brilliant New Mexico landscapes. The Santa Fe painter focuses on the spiritual essence of a place rather than attempting to imitate the literal landscape, which stems from her fascination with the “shan shui” Chinese painting tradition. “This approach to painting the landscape has its own life force and is not an illustration that is line for line, form for form,” says Rossi of the “shan shui” style. “Rather, the real essence of the landscape is captured in a style which could also be akin with some of the western ideas of romanticism.” Rossi balances the line between realism and abstraction with strong mark making and energetic brushwork, forming a loose yet discernible vision of a Santa Fe sunset or desert wind. Paintings from her Skyscape and Drive By series will be featured for Contemporary Visions.

Pippin Contemporary, founded in May 2011 by artist Aleta Pippin, is located in the heart of the historic Canyon Road art district in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The gallery is committed to showing art that is fresh and vibrant, as well as collectible. Pippin Contemporary artists provide visitors with a “sensory experience of color and mood” through vivid portrayals of personal expression. Pippin Contemporary is named Best Gallery in New Mexico by American Art Awards for 2019 and 2014, and named one of the Best of 25 Galleries in America.