Opening Reception - ILLUMINE: Lena Bartula and Karen Wight April 3, 2009

ILLUMINE: Lena Bartula and Karen Wight

Artist's Reception – Friday, April 3rd 2009
5:00- 9:00 pm

April 3 - April 24
ILLUMINE is an astonishing tour de force by two artists who come together to create an installation never seen before in Albuquerque.

Lena Bartula contributes a series of beautifully crafted huipiles fashioned from the most disparate materials: recycled bags from corn or beans, market bags, lottery posters, oilcloth, found fabrics, bandanas, ribbons and even prayer flags. These sculptures shed light on the universal issue of women’s rights and they give voice, with their seemingly mundane yet imposing presence, to the millions of women who lead a life of inequality and discrimination. In addition, Bartula builds books that contain the stories of both contemporary and mythical women. These sculptural books constitute a ray of light that brings hope to everyone who learns about the outstanding women portrayed in them. Their stories of strength, heroism and unbroken spirit inspire and educate men and women alike.

Lena Bartula is a multidisciplinary artist who has made her home in Mexico since 2004. For the last thirty years, she has exhibited her work in numerous occasions both in Mexico and the United States.

Karen Wight opts for a more classical approach to illustrating the plea of human existence. The human body has become the primary focus of her artwork as the vehicle that she uses to convey not only its resilience, but also its malleability and ever changing nature. Her resin sculptures of both female and male bodies, not only capture light as it pierces them, but they also smolder with a lovely amber glow that brings peace to the mind. A primeval sense of wellbeing radiates from these thriving, confident, archetypal bodies as they remain still, illuminated, while personifying possibilities and hope.

In combination, Bartula’s and Wight’s work creates a dynamic dialogue between interior and exterior spaces. The hidden and the open. Surface and essence. Opposites that become meaningless without each other’s existence.

Karen Wight attended the Chouinard Art School at UCLA and has been a consultant for art and movement at UCLA's Lab School. She has ample experience exhibiting in art galleries and museums across the United States, Europe and Mexico.

ArtHaus66 Gallery
6320 Linn NE Suite C (map)

Official Website: http://www.arthaus66.com/