GVG contemporary

02/22/2020

Mortimer, the small sound sculpture (right), is off to a new home. But there's more where he came from: repurposed steel creations by Ernst Gruler!

02/18/2020

Three beauties by Blair Vaughn-Gruler now at GVG ... each is 24 x 18 x 2, oil and mixed media on claybord, $1400.

"The repetitive practice of laying down multiple layers of media, drawing between the layers, and repeating the procedure makes physical the thought process itself," says this process-oriented painter.

02/15/2020

Opening tonight in Dallas!

This Saturday! Opening reception Feb. 15! # marytomasgallery #masri #blairvaughngruler #contemporaryart

02/15/2020

Tank 1 of 3 ... diving in with a new line by Lori Swartz, who says, "It has the feel of barnacles, underwater sea plants, and rusted things, uncovered."

02/13/2020

"Old and ancient techniques cannot really be separated from contemporary ones," says jewelry artist Wanda Cavanagh. "There is knowledge passed through centuries involving techniques, physical and chemical properties of metals, and calculated measurements, research, and design."

Check out some of Cavanagh's latest designs, which leave the maker's mark of her tools as part of her handcrafted aesthetic. To read more about her work, check out our latest e-blast: https://conta.cc/2Sc8FSa

02/11/2020

GVG contemporary

It's almost the day of love! Whether that makes you smile or cringe, we feel safe in saying we will always love ... jewelry!

And as our jeweler Lori Swartz wisely says, "Jewelry represents a moment in time. It's a bond between people, a gift to yourself, something extra."

Follow the link to read about Swartz's new line and the profoundly varied approaches and aesthetics of two of our other master jewelers, Wanda Cavanagh and Carla Pennie McBride. (And get in touch if you see something you ... or someone special ... must have.)

https://conta.cc/2Sc8FSa

02/08/2020

Hey it's almost Valentine's Day! Swing by to check out Lori Swartz's new line, which Swartz says is inspired by "the feel of barnacles, underwater sea plants, and rusted things, uncovered."

02/05/2020

There's a lot of playful energy and exploration in Blair Vaughn-Gruler's new Fragments Series ... and they look great in conversation with a new line of jewelry by Lori Swartz (this is just a sneak preview... more on Lori's work soon!).

Fragments #2-7, oil and mixed media on claybord, 12 x 9, $450 each.

02/01/2020

GVG contemporary

"In Vaughn-Gruler’s work, the movement and rhythm of mark-making are emphasized, rather than aesthetics or definition or syntax or context," writes Cori Anderson for 303 Magazine. "If you blur your eyes standing in front of one, it might look like a word search or a crossword puzzle. But ultimately, there are no letters or words intentionally relayed in her work. Instead, it’s about the process of pen to paper or brush to canvas. Inspecting Vaughn-Gruler’s paintings will illuminate her methodical repetition of brushwork and chaotic stream-of-conscious scribbles as if she’s trying to remember something that is just out of reach. Language is referenced, as Vaughn-Gruler noted, but the meaning is left unclear."

Blair Vaughn-Gruler's work is part of the group show Synesthetic Ciphers, up now at Walker Fine Art Gallery Contemporary Art Denver.

Read the full article here: https://303magazine.com/2020/01/walker-fine-art-synesthetic-cyphers/

01/30/2020

There's a story in each of the art pieces Gilles Martiniere creates, a story from the past, of beautiful stones, worn metal, and delicate wood. Based in the South of France, Gilles travels extensively and is fascinated by "the universality of the sacred in found objects."

From left to right: Black Magic #36, #33, #31, ranging 10-12" tall, with a mix of steel, copper, ebony, hazel, and plum tree, $240-$360.

01/28/2020

What can an old steel, compressed gas tank become? Various creations by Ernst Gruler.

01/23/2020

Jeffie Brewer's abstractions: Pink Sexy & Meditations in Mauve

01/21/2020

New by Blair Vaughn-Gruler: Upon Contemplation, mixed media on claybord, 24 x 18 x 2

01/18/2020

This just in by our prolific, scrapyard visionary Ernst Gruler.

01/14/2020

Ernst Gruler's As I Imagine series, variously imagined! "It comes back to sound," says Gruler. "What is buzzing through my head, like music with forms and shapes moving through. The figures are momentary glimpses into my psyche."

In painting and fine art furniture, this series realizes Gruler's idea that "Everything is imagination. The longer the imagined thought is held, the greater likelihood that it will come to be."

01/11/2020

Last night at Walker Fine Art Gallery Contemporary Art Denver ... painter Blair Vaughn-Gruler joins Synesthetic Ciphers, a group show that looks at the symbology behind language, and how we might be able to experience language as "mark-making and cross-sensory experiences." If you're in the area, the show is up until Sat. 2/29.

01/09/2020

"My work is a combination of spirit, humor, and sensitivity, as well as a hunger for growth. I am moved by color—by how it translates onto the substrate and plays with the eye. I love texture as it gives grit and substance to what I do—where I am—where I am going. Grit is good." - Lori Schappe-Youens

01/07/2020

New at GVG ... Model T Crank #2 by Ernst Gruler, with Portrait in Blue by Jeffie Brewer.

01/03/2020

Happy New Year! We hope your 2020 is kicking off with whatever serves you best: fun, clarity, contemplation, determination and/or ART!
We're excited to announce that Blair Vaughn-Gruler is now represented at Walker Fine Art in Denver and makes her debut next weekend! Denver friends, please join us for the opening!

12/24/2019

Very happy holidays to all! As the light returns, here's some texture & luminosity by three of our painters at GVG.

12/19/2019

Some of Ernst Gruler's latest Sound Sculptures, ringing strong at GVG!

These are crafted from repurposed steel parts. Gruler melds the cast-offs from cars, farm machinery, and former pressure canisters to create these practical and sculptural objects.

12/17/2019

Still looking for the perfect holiday gift? Check out these wall bells by Jamie Monroe, master blacksmith. These are hand-forged and each is one-of-a-kind. Swipe to see some of Monroe's larger sculptures, too!

12/12/2019

Looking for a small, affordable gift of fine art? Large-scale oil painter Blair Vaughn-Gruler thinks of her Little Drawings like sketchbook pages, with the drawings made in the paint or with the paint. They can be hung alone or in conversation with each other. Each 5 x 7 piece is ready to hang and mounted to float out ¾ inch from the wall.

"Lest this sounds too postmodern ... I create each painting to be a talisman," says Vaughn-Gruler. "They are objects made of paint that are imbued with the act of making, subliminally aligning, and realigning, both the maker and the viewer."

At $95 each, these talismans make for the perfect gifts. Get in touch if you'd like to see more of what we have available!

12/10/2019

Some things just want to be together, so it seems, though Night Moves by Kathy Hope and this repurposed steel sound sculpture and side table by Ernst Gruler couldn't be more different in origin and creator.

Our co-owner, Blair Vaughn-Gruler has referred to Hope as a "powerhouse" of a painter. Working with the psychological properties of color, she's a master of medium, having concocted various blends of cement, plaster, acrylic, and inks. "I paint best when I push my medium to the limit," she says. Night Moves is a highly dynamic piece whose dark (and light) tones seem very alive—and very real, like some of the most vivid dreams. (We love the title, too.)

Gruler, meanwhile, grew up building and taking things apart. A fine art furniture maker, he's also become a scrapyard aficionado, rendering from scrap steel his meditative sound sculptures.

We love what comes together at GVG 💙🖤

12/09/2019

web-extract.constantcontact.com

Ring (or paint) in the holidays with us!

12/09/2019

Sending this beautiful little painting off to it's new home out on the east coast today. We will miss it's glowing presence at GVG, but so happy that one of our long time collector's will enjoy it!

12/05/2019

Amongst the diverse and abundant natural wonders of New Mexico is El Malpais National Monument in western New Mexico, just an hour from Albuquerque. NYTimes travel writer Michael Benanav has described it as "a petrified sea of buckled and bulging basalt that sprawls over 100,000-plus acres." Painter Elle MacLaren experienced this with characteristic awe, and her recent masterpieces of encaustic and oil were made in tribute to this vast, volcanic land (which takes its name from the Spanish word for "badlands").

The Santa Fe-based painter says, "I'm interested in the relationship between people and natural and manmade environments. There are many layers to observing the familiar. There is an imprint, a memory, a feeling that goes beyond observation. The images I create aim to bring the viewer into seeing the environment on a deeper level."

El Malpais I and II by MacLaren are available now at GVG. Come experience this abstract and psychological imprint/memory of the badlands for yourself!

Benanav's article "Into a Lava-Lined Underworld": https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/travel/into-a-lava-lined-underworld-near-albuquerque.html

12/03/2019

When's the last time you saw a Model T Ford? Ernst Gruler's latest table is an unusual collector's item, crafted from a Model T steel crank and fine bubinga wood. Get in touch if it has to be yours!

12/02/2019

A moment of connectivity

A moment of connectivity

11/27/2019

We have an interesting new piece on the walls by Oliver Polzin. The Enfolded Moment captures a fleeting instance that Polzin witnessed in nature, out in La Tierra a bit north of Santa Fe. "I feel so enchanted by these New Mexican moments," says Polzin, who painted the piece here at GVG last month during the Canyon Road Sculpt/Paint-Out. "There are ways in which the landscape speaks to you through assembled moments, I think, where an aesthetic crystallizes ... when nature is just saying: Here is this moment. It’s the key to how you understand all the other moments."

To read more about what the artist has to say, check out our blog: http://gvgcontemporary.com/blog/ ... and get in touch if you're interested in The Enfolded Moment, gouache on aqua board, 15.25 x 12.5 x 2" (framed), $1200.

11/26/2019

Spotlight: The Enfolded Moment

Spotlight: The Enfolded Moment

11/26/2019

Conjured from the scrapyard and made anew are the Sun Tower sound sculptures by Ernst Gruler: absolute beauties, repurposed steel, $1500.

11/21/2019

The dignified Modern Bunny and Drawn Flower by Jeffie Brewer are off to their new home soon! Meanwhile... GVG's creatures brave the snow in Santa Fe!

11/19/2019

Ever have a "Yellow Morning?" Mary Tomas's new piece at GVG is a calming yet stirring embodiment of just that. Tomas likes to capture subtle moments of spaces that occupy her day: quietude mixed with staccatos of activity. She's known for an ethereal and otherworldly look, yet she often works in thick layers of paint, playing with viscosity, light, and shadow. She owns a gallery in Dallas and we're so happy to also have her work here. What's a Yellow Morning for you?

11/14/2019

Have you ever felt like there's "The Secret Life of Chalkboards"? These common (already historical?) objects from of our childhoods, little palimpsests of learning (erased!), have captured the imagination of metaphysical painter Elle MacLaren, who works with the challenging medium of encaustic. MacLaren has a few pieces up now at GVG that explore environmental imagery and the psychology of different colors and emotions.

11/12/2019

What happens when a painting become sculptural? Blair Vaughn-Gruler says, "Paint is, for me, an ointment," and has described how her process of repetition, layering, and mark making "makes physical the thought process itself, as if the paint glues ideas and experiences together." The impact is, perhaps, felt even more in her structured, multimedia canvases that include pieces of wood, painted, glued, and painted again. While Evolutionary Linguistics I & II are off to their new home, Blair's Fascile, Shingle Artifact Triptych, and her small, 6 x 6 paintings, Accumulations, take on similar constructions.

11/05/2019

GVG contemporary

"Ernst Gruler's tables aren't merely flat-topped pieces of furniture—they're eye-catchingly abstract, with curves designed to draw each person into the fold and chairs that smoothly follow the shape of the human body." -Sarah Eddy, Santa Fean magazine / photos by Gabriella Marks

Ernst's fine art furniture is ergonomic and unmistakable in aesthetic, with textures much like the large-scale paintings he also does, built up from layers of Bondo and metallic paint. When it comes to his fine art furniture, repurposed steel sound sculptures, and tank lamps, visitors have alluded to Tim Burton, steampunk, and Game of Thrones, but to us, it's just Ernst Gruler. 🛠

https://issuu.com/santafean/docs/santa_fean_octnov_2019_digital_edition/66

10/30/2019

Trick-or-treat and art tmrw afternoon? Come to the Canyon Road arts district! We'll be in costume at GVG with our friends by Jeffie Brewer:

10/28/2019

Just in... new sound sculptures by Ernst Gruler. These functional, aesthetic beauties go fast. They are one-of-a-kind repurposed steel (and glass) sculptures between 21-35" tall and go for $1700-$1900. Call in the spirits this week?

10/24/2019

For jewelry artist Wanda Cavanagh, the mark of the hand is critical to her designs. These are just in after Wanda's jewelry demo over the weekend... need a Halloween charm bangle or a powerful ring?

10/24/2019

GVG contemporary

10/24/2019

Blair Vaughn-Gruler, Asemic Poetry, oil and mixed media on claybord, 40 x 60 x 2

10/22/2019

A big thanks to all who came by the Paint/Sculpt Out this weekend! We loved watching Oliver Polzin create a spirited landscape painting in a day while Wanda Cavanagh did a beading demo inside and showcased some awesome new jewelry designs (some of which are still available - come on by)!

10/17/2019

Art Off the Walls: Canyon Rd Paint & Sculpt Out!

Art Off the Walls: Canyon Rd Paint & Sculpt Out!

10/15/2019

The Art of Making Jewelry: Wanda Cavanagh

Explore the traditional and contemporary techniques of Santa Fe-based Polish jewelry artist Wanda Cavanagh, who trained in Europe and has built a repertoire of Southwest-contemporary influenced elegant designs.