Durango artist Karyn Gabaldon stands next to some of the 40-plus paintings she has been working on since the Gold King Mine spill last August. Gabaldon, whose home studio overlooks the river, was so stricken by the incident that she has dedicated an entire show of her work to it. The show opens this Friday at her Main Ave. gallery during the spring gallery walk./Photo by Jennaye Derge
Homage to the Animas
Artist Karyn Gabaldon pays tribute to the river
by Stew Mosberg
Rivers are a source of existence for all forms of life, and the Animas is but one example of that sanctity. When it was violated last August, more than aquatic life or the economy was damaged, people were affected emotionally.
Highly regarded local artist Karyn Gabaldon has lived on the shore of the Animas for decades. When the Gold King mine spill occurred, it broke her heart, she recalled, “We live on the Animas, and my studio overlooks it.”
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For the past 12 years she has been the owner and principal artist of Karyn Gabaldon Arts, the Main Avenue art gallery that bears her name. However, she has had a gallery in Durango since 1980, making hers one of the longest continually running art galleries in town. That longevity is a testament to her talent and business savvy, as well as her love of the community.
Gabaldon recalled the day of the devastating mine spill, “I was on my way down to the water with my inner tube when I got a call from my mom who was up in the Animas Valley and saw it coming,” she said. “Otherwise, I would have been right in the middle of it!”
Anyone who saw the murky deluge on the news or in person was affected by the sight, and the artist couldn’t stop talking about it. “One day in September,” she reiterated, “a man from Albuquerque, Mark Fleisher, came into the gallery and we talked for a long time about the river.” Sometime later she received a poem from him titled “Soul of the River.”
“From the time I received it,” she continued, “It was clear that as an artist, I owed it to the river to paint about the tragedy.”
A determined, disciplined woman, Gabaldon feverishly set to work this past January and will debut a show at the gallery on Fri., May 13, called, “Homage to El Rio De Las Animas Perdidas.” The work comprises more than 40 acrylic paintings on wooden panels, ranging in size from 6-by-6 inches to 4-by-5 feet, while two larger pieces are done on canvas. Describing the ambitious undertaking, Gabaldon explained, “As I began to paint, I was thrown into so many of my own emotions that I was caught off guard. Many things came up that I dealt with on a psychic level, and I realized how profound and powerful the river actually is!”
At noon on Thurs., May 12, the day before the official opening, Gabaldon will present an informal talk about the transition of an artist from realism to abstraction and then at 2 p.m. she will conduct a (free) painting demonstration. The exhibition which will remain displayed for two weeks. “Some of (the paintings) are more representational, specific places on the river,” she said, “while others are more of what I call ‘contemporary’ or ‘abstract landscapes.’”
 “The river is the heart and soul of this place. It has taught me a lot and has always been there when I needed to play, meditate or just enjoy its incredible beauty,” says Galdon./ Photo by Jennaye Derge |
Visitors experiencing the exhibit in its entirety might well be taken aback by the sea of color. Gabaldon’s pallet is normally one of brilliant jewel tones and subtle washes, which in this series works particularly well. “Water is clear,” she explained, “therefore the color is either the reflection from the sky or what is beneath. I have so enjoyed doing these and have barely scratched the surface.”
Hoping to work on more water themes after the show, the artist said, “I may continue to do the river for some time. I love it because it is both realistic, yet abstract, and it changes constantly. Every season, every light of day, every moment.”
A great deal of her art appears to have an Asian influence – this series in particular evokes a serenity often found in the tranquil gardens of Japan or China. However, her personal sensitivity to the environment likely stems from her Spanish and Isleta Nation heritage, she postulates. In these paintings, water is a key component of the composition. Even the miniature ones encompass the essential elements of mountains, sky and water.
Many of the images in this exhibit depict cairns along the shore or on a ledge overlooking the river marking a place of significance. Asked about those stone monuments the artist recalled that last fall, she and musician husband, Jeff Solon, were walking beside the river, which they do several times a day, and noticed that someone had set up cairns along, and in, the river. “It was so beautiful and surprising. Usually you see them in the desert to mark the path,” she said. “I thought about how temporary they were, like us. Yet in their time they are so beautiful. A good lesson.”
In addition to Gabaldon’s paintings, the show will feature hand-blown glass cairns by Melanie Leppla, an artisan from Vermont.
By way of an invitation and before the opening reception Gabaldon said, “I am eager to share these (paintings) with this wonderful community we call home; the river is the heart and soul of this place. It has taught me a lot and has always been there when I needed to play, meditate, or just enjoy its incredible beauty.”
Gabaldon recently shared her feelings about the river in an open letter to the community in which her closing sentiment reads, “I cannot abandon you now, in your time of need. You have always taken care of me and now I will not let you down.”