- El Meze rated "excellent" by 7 travelers
J Fine Art Gallery
J Fine Art Gallery is the premier contemporary art destination in Taos, New Mexico. Specializing in modern contemporary fine art, our artists art work is unparralled and shown in numorous private and corporate collections throughout the world.
JUSTIN EARL WEST
Biography:
Justin Earl West moved to Arizona with his family from upstate New York when he was twelve. He was prolific and driven from a young age and involved himself in a variety of the arts. From sculpting, drawing and painting to music, acting and special effects make- up, he continues to expand his visions for creating. Justin started working with steel as a teenager. He also learned what he could in the field of mechanics and body work as well as construction and took these skills back to the world of art. Justin West states, "I have been a sculptor all of my life. I love the freedom of mixing mediums. I have worked with almost anything you can think of from clay, plexiglass or fiberglass, and wood to concrete, drywall or steel. Whatever a sculpture needs I can bring it in." He lives in Phoenix, AZ with his artist partner, Josiane Childers, and their three German Shepherds.
About his work:
Justin Earl West loves steel for its strength and resilience combined with versatility. Justin says you can do anything with it and it will last. He is also inspired by its captivating history of raw ore forged of fire from the center of the earth. Every piece of steel he touches has been part of this planet since its birth and will be until the end. Justin feels it is an honor and privilege to give it a form from his imagination. Justin uses patinas on steel out of his deep respect for it. He wants to see the natural colors that the steel itself has the potential to yield. Justin is able to bring these colors out of the steel without sacrificing the textures he has labored to create.
Nancy Ngo
Nancy Ngo was Born in Chicago, Il., but her family relocated to Arizona when she was a young child. Nancy has always been involved in a variety of the Arts. She started learning piano at the very young age of three. Photography also fascinated her at a young age. It was only after attending The School of the Art Institute of Chicago's constructive early college program; she began to seriously consider a permanent career in the arts. Constantly traveling back and forth between Chicago and Arizona, Nancy Ngo grew up learning an appreciation for contrasting landscapes. She developed an eye for the difference in the way light reflects on different terrains in the country. Ngo received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis on Painting and Art History from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in 2001. For a short time after graduation, Nancy worked in a commercial art firm which helped her to form a bridge between her passion for conceptual art and an appreciation for the decorative arts. She currently resides in Arizona with her culinary artist husband and their two dogs.
Thom Wheeler
Thom Wheeler is a Texas native who became one of Houston's foremost contemporary sculptors in the 1970's/80's, creating many large commissions for corporations and architects, commercial and public spaces such as hotel and bank lobbies. He worked in grand scale ranging from 54 feet for bas relief works to 60 feet tall three dimensional pieces. Major works were executed for Banco di Roma, Rome, Italy; The Grand Hotel, Houston; and Ole Miss University, Oxford, Mississippi among many others. Private collectors include Dr. Jonas Salk and country music star Randy Travis.
He's had one-man shows in several cities including San Francisco, Palm Springs, and New Orleans, and been feature or cover artist in several publications including "Southwest Art", "New Mexico Magazine", and "The Houston Chronicle".
His materials are highly polished and textured metals such as brass, copper, and aluminum plate set with ivory, wood, cast glass, stag horn, and stone such as turquoise, malachite and jasper. His tools include the band saw, lathe, drill press, shears, kilns, welding machines, buffers, and sanders.
Thom moved to Taos in 1985 where he began concentrating on smaller pieces with a feeling for the icons of the West and Southwest - gypsy women faces, crosses, bucking broncos, howling coyotes, cow skulls, and the saguaro cacti. As he said, "You could call this my interpretation of Indian jewelry." He actually calls these works "wall jewelry".
Affectionate yet reverent to the Western theme, Thom often titles his work after country western songs as "Don't Fence Me In" and "Cow Cow Boogie". His work ranges from $300 for a 4" x 12" Sacred Heart Icon to several thousands. The humidors are $2,400. The "Thunderbird Icon" which is 48" x 36" is $4,800.
In 1992 Thom built his two-story adobe castle, foundry, and gallery at 939 Kit Carson Road where he lives and works today. When asked what the gallery hours are he said "pretty much 9-5, seven days a week, except when I'm not here". You might want to give him a call before going (505) 758-8870
Bill Rane
BILL RANE (1927 - 2005)
Bill Rane was born in Bend, Oregon March 3, 1927. He grew up in Crouch and Garden Valley, Idaho. Even as a young boy he was recognized for his artistic talents. After time in the US Navy during WW II, Bill studied art and literature at Boise Junior College, San Francisco Art Institute and the University of California - Berkeley.
His frequent travels to Latin America made a lasting impression upon his soul. He lived in Guatemala in the late 1940¹s and early 50¹s when he was married to Carmen Lish, a native Guatemalan. Together they had three children; Rosa Beatrice, Randolph Jose, and William Ivan- all of whom became highly influenced by the arts as well as fluent speakers of Spanish - including Bill.
The late 1950¹s found him single in San Francisco and Sausalito as part of the beatnik community - known as a painter of renown, a roustabout, a raconteur and a steady feature in the early Sausalito Arts Festivals. In September of 1958 he married Judy Johnson (Judith Rane) after a six day courtship. They were married for forty seven years and together had five children; Anson Elias, August Jonas, Anna Katherine, Canto Omar and Aren Sven.
During those years, the family traveled extensively to Mexico. Bill¹s love for Latin America, its exotic treasures including textures and colors, markets and flowers, can be seen in a great number of his paintings. As an oil painter, he loved to let the globs of oil paint build up on a canvas - weaving, dripping and dropping, randomly, from the steady hand of a master painter. His work, often stylized figurative women, is laden with myths and sylphs and codices.
Bill often liked to refer to “The Literature of Paint ”.He was a great reader – a lover or metaphor, a delver into the Greek Classics and a great promoter of “The Every Man/Woman”. In his work one cansee the footprint (or the heartbeat) of humanity’s reach for beauty and culture – not unlike the reach of the master himself.
Cynthia Huff
The current direction in recent paintings is that of perceived silence, sound and meditative experience, relative to the visual experience. Just as in music, a painting may elicit various responses that are based upon private symbols or referential codes. Every mind is shaped by a different bundle of experiences so a sound or a painting will mean something different to each who encounters it.
In our contemporary culture the ticking of a clock may be meditative or agitating and neutral colors or symmetry may be considered calming. How does the experience change if a painting is multi-layered, with vibrant colors hidden? Does energy produced from the layering affect of a painting determine different sound waves and change the viewer’s response?
What sound is silence and does it soothe or stimulate? Are there specific companion colors associated with silence? Is a painting that is described as “loud” and made up of primary colors also meditative? Are the energy waves that elicit a meditative response in a painting totally subjective and is there a cultural basis for these responses? Does a large scale work that immerses the viewer, illicit a more silent enveloped sound? What percent of control is actually possible in a response and how much is random? These questions are posed as I make decisions concerning the basic elements of composition, scale, color and value in my work.
The most recent mixed media paintings created are built up in calligraphic marks, soothing forms, biomorphic shapes, and grids to form images with a layered cumulative force. A new translucent sense of light that is present in a quiet ground connects these elements and another layer is formed and scratched into and painted upon and glazed over. The layers shine through the build up, creating a visual energy experience and response that can be compared to that produced by sound.