The Olive Rush Studio & Art Center is hosting a gallery opening and sale for contemporary artists who are directly descended from or are inspired by the life and artwork of Olive Rush.   Rush was a trendsetting modern artist, and she was also a big community builder in the Santa Fe artist community.  Her house on Canyon Road, recently reopened as an historic artist studio and museum, was the center of many gatherings for artists and art lovers when Rush lived there, between 1920 and 1966.  

This Friday, featured artists include Leah Kohlenberg, a great-grandniece of Olive Rush, and Frank Trocino, artist-in-residence at the Olive Rush Studio & Art Center. Come meet the artists and view the house and studio where Olive Rush lived and worked. 

The show’s title, Olive Branches, refers not only to the Olive Rush direct influences on contemporary artists, but also to the olive branch as an ancient symbol of peace, something Rush as a life-long Quaker loved and valued.   A percentage of all art purchases will go to support the non-profit Olive Rush Studio & Art Center.

FEATURED ARTISTS:

LEAH KOHLENBERG - www.leahkohlenberg.com. Before I became an artist, I was a journalist working for small daily newspapers across the US and Time Magazine in Hong Kong, helping cover the Hong Kong handover to China in 1997.  I also worked as a journalist trainer in Mongolia, Armenia and the Republic of Georgia.  I didn't discover painting until I was 32 years old. 

I am a realist painter but don’t want my work to be confused with a photograph.  I've painted in all mediums, from watercolor to oil, but I currently work in acrylic paint.  My style of painting embraces both expressionism and impressionism.   I work with short, choppy strokes and incorporate drips into all layers in my paintings.    I gravitate towards vibrant colour, but I've learned to play those colours off with beautiful neutrals, too.  I want my paintings to have a sense of movement, even though it's a static moment captured on a flat surface.

FRANK TROCINO - www.franktroartist.com. “Good art should elicit thought and emotion. It can recall memories and events from the past, or perhaps, fuel the imagination for things to come.” Frank Trocino is a retired architect turned painter currently residing in Santa Fe New Mexico. His path to Santa Fe began in New York, then to Oregon as a young child through College. From there he has lived in Italy, Los Angeles, the Middle East, Portland, and Austin. His work can be seen in galleries, hotels, and the homes of private collectors internationally. He is a mixed media artist using acrylic paint, ink and collage and his subject matter is primarily people and buildings.

Frank’s former career as an architect definitely influences his paintings through a keen understanding of structure, perspective, and spatial relationships. While this background inspires him to incorporate precise compositions and architectural elements, it also paves the way for him to skew and distort reality. Frank’s art invites viewers to reflect on the significance of their own relationships within the environments they call home.