cotton Jacquard tapestry, 88 1/2 x 49 inches
Please join us at Peters Projects in Santa Fe, NM for the opening of "I Forget I'm Human," an exhibition of new work by Donald and Era Farnsworth on view from September 8 through November 4, 2017. An opening reception with the artists will be held Friday, September 8th from 5-7 pm.
mixed media on linen canvas, 63 x 40 inches
In "I Forget I’m Human," the Farnsworths address the relationship between humanity and the environment, investigating how myth and science have shaped human values from ancient times to the present day. Nearly all of the compositions in "I Forget I’m Human" include multiple layers of both hand-painted and digitally generated elements, creating a palimpsest-like effect that echoes the layers, patinas, and weathered wabi-sabi of works that have survived from ancient times while also incorporating contemporary digital processes. A selection of the works included in the show can be viewed online at Peters Projects' website.
mixed media on linen canvas, 70 x 46 inches
The exhibition includes tapestries which use a medium older than oil on canvas – weaving, albeit updated by 19th-century Jacquard and 21st-century digital color matching technologies. Meanwhile, the Farnsworths' Art Notes series ‘recycles’ and re-imagines one dollar bill notes, re-envisioning the “Almighty Dollar” as a site wherein to celebrate heroes of creativity and conservation and to light-heartedly castigate polluters and oligarchs. A series of works depicting therianthropic (animal-human hybrid) deities harkens back to those appearing in the earliest surviving human artworks while also incorporating elements from Buddhist, Hindu, Judeo-Christian, Islamic and Jungian iconographies.
mixed media, 42 x 31 inches
From ancient gods with the heads of animals to living, breathing endangered species; from the capitalistic fever for accumulated wealth to precious natural resources like clean air and water, what we value is evident in the symbolic and visual output of our species: our myths and sacred images. In "I Forget I’m Human," the Farnsworths trace this output, offering a glimpse of the hubris of humanity matched with an optimistic appeal for spiritual and ecological balance.
cotton Jacquard tapestry with acrylic paint, 96 1/2 x 64 1/2 inches
For inquiries, please contact Eileen Braziel, Director of Peters Projects at eileen@petersprojects.com or (505)954-5801.
