Noel Anderson’s one-woman show (Broken Boundaries), opened at Magpie in the Overland Ranch Complex on March 1st.
Noel has been showing with Georgia Gersh since she opened Magpie, and in fact, the two women initially considered opening the gallery together.
They were both working at the short-lived, Bodega next door to Ed Sandoval’s galley at the time, but Georgia wound up doing it alone. Nonetheless, the two women retain close ties, through friendship and work.
Georgia’s gallery, is a co-cooperative, collaborative effort in every sense of the word; community oriented, yet with a broad, creative reach, Georgia has achieved something rare and special here, in her magpie’s nest! And Noel’s cool, steampunk-influenced art is a huge part of what makes Magpie unique.
Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Noel has lived n Taos for more than 30 years. We met way back when she was married to a very talented, local musician. Widowed too young, she survived her husband’s untimely death, endured single-motherhood’s challenges whilst continuing to make art through. Quite an accomplishment!
Noel began working with leather, making hand cut, stamped and dyed jewellery and accessories.
By 1999 she had begun to create cohesive, miniature assemblages, incorporating vintage books, frames, found and natural objects into these otherworldly creations.
“Noël Anderson is a force of imagination.” Says Georgia. “ She was one of my original inspirations for opening magpie because I could not believe that an artist of her creative ability did not have representation. “
Five years later, Noel Anderson is one of Magpie’s best-selling artists.
“She is now collected around the globe.” Georgia says, “I am delighted that Anderson will open the season at magpie with an incredibly dynamic, magical, three-dimensional exhibit.”
“She is the first artist that I represent to have a second show. The first was a huge success and a wonderful spectacle. I’m looking forward to seeing how she fills the room from her meticulous miniatures to her sculpture.”
In her artist statement, Anderson says, “The (show), Broken Boundaries, is a retrospective display of my artwork for the last twenty years. Consisting of a wide range of mediums, materials, and forms, it is a representation of all the venues I’ve explored in the art world, and my visual evolution of the past two decades.”
For the past few years, Noel explains that she has been exploring form, experimenting with new ideas.
“Although my work has pattern, method and repetition, it is met with randomness, the spontaneous and free-flow of the moment. “ Her ongoing process is a combination of practical application and “a much more dreamy and unpredictable aspect .” Noel explains.
“Like a good balance between play and hard work, it’s masculine and feminine at the same time and the pieces themselves, I think, reflect that.” She says.
Noel Anderson’s new show, Broken Boundaries, is up through March 30th. For more information, please visit the site linked below.
All images thanks to Wendy Shuey
