VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

Archway Gallery presents Essence, featuring paintings by Kay Sarver. The exhibition will be on view November 5 – December 1, 2011.  The artist will be on hand to visit with guests during the exhibition opening reception on Saturday, November 5, 2011 from 5 – 8 pm at the gallery.

In a collaboration of steel wire and oil paint on wood, Sarver brings a distinct perspective that speaks to the intrinsic nature of our existence. Painted, earthy figures reminiscent of Indigenous women of the Americas are her human contact. Through her work, Sarver asks viewers to contemplate life beyond the physical realm and explore the world of spirit and the deep connection between these two.

“I believe we are often disillusioned about who we really are, why we are here and how we interconnect with all around us,” Sarver said. “Many of us live in large cities that are filled with concrete, steel and a fast pace, high-media lifestyle, which further distances our vital connection to nature. As we become entangled in our material reality, we may find ourselves unaware of our own inner essence - our soul, which I believe is the greater part of being human.”

Sarver further heightens the visual experience of her work by using multiple gauges of steel wire shaped into various animal, plant and other worldly forms to establish a more ethereal impression of each subject’s “inner self.” Often these wire forms are attached to the paintings themselves, while the painted figures subtly interact with their eyes closed. Sarver believes this will help to invoke the sense of “feeling” the energy of the nonphysical part of something, rather than seeing it’s physicality with eyes wide open.

“In this kind of tender, reverent relationship with life, we begin to understand the fundamental parallel to our thriving in a healthy, balanced existence on Earth,” she said.

After growing up in the Mid-West and attending the University of Cincinnati in the Fine Arts program as a Painting major, Sarver moved to Florida for a few years and then moved to Texas. In 2000, she made her first trip to Mexico, not knowing just how much this would change her life and the direction of her art.  She saw something different in the faces of the people she encountered, aside from their obvious indigenous heritage. The paintings she developed from these first impressions connected legends and traditions with modern-day struggles.

“Even though I felt deeply engaged with many issues these people face in their daily lives,” she said, “it was clear that my interest had grown into something more personal.”

As her relationship strengthened through her involvement with these Native American cultures, she began to learn about the deeper connection to life and “Spirit” and her inherent longing to fully comprehend and embrace this state of being.

Pictured:  Rose Spirit.  (detail above, full image below).