ADAPT (Iteration 2)

“ADAPT (Iteration 2)”

Terry Maker · Omar Chacón · Ted Larsen · Wendi Harford · Betty Merken

Terry Maker

“I am keenly aware and want to be responsive to the latest developments of our present-day trials and crises.  My work sometimes has acerbic humor that addresses our particular and contemporary ultimatum - to adapt or succumb to futility and despair. The need for creating a defiant response to despondency is on our plate. We will adapt by being the creative humans that we’re called to be right now – to rise to the call to redesign, transform and adapt.”

– Terry Maker

Terry Maker received her BA from McMurry University, Abilene, Texas and an MFA from the University of Colorado, as well as an MA in Education from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Her work has been exhibited in many solo museum exhibitions including: Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, CO; Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO; Museum of Art Fort Collins, Fort Collins, CO; Littleton Museum, Littleton, CO; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and Museum; and Arvada Center for the Arts, Arvada, CO, along with exhibitions at the Denver Botanic Gardens, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, among other venues throughout the United States. An expansive solo exhibition, “Terry Maker: Because the World is Round” runs through September 13, 2020 at the Longmont Museum, Longmont Colorado.

Omar Chacón

“Adapting within the process of making art is a path of learning.  Every painting is its own theory or Universe; it is a world onto itself.  It is an infinitely radical galaxy according to its own rules. In some metaphysical but organic way, you are seeing the group mind and I cherish this solidarity with my colleagues and especially with the history of painting.  Being responsive to change is not only an inherently creative act in the studio but with both invention and integrity as the goal, art and life holds the most promise, the most reward!” ­­– Omar Chacon

Born in Bogota, Colombia, Omar Chacón received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, CA and his BFA from the Ringling School of Art and Design, FL. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in cities such as Los Angeles, Milan, San Francisco, New York City and Mexico City. Recently, Chacón participated in exhibitions at the Children’s Museum of the Arts in New York, NY and the Mobile Museum of Art in Mobile, AL. In 2009, Chacón was selected as part of the Queens International Four at the 2009 Biennial at the Queens Museum of Art, New York. Chacón received a public commission from the NYU Langone Art Program and Collection in 2017. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2007 William and Dorothy Yeck Award through the Miami University National Young Painters Competition and the 2008 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship. His paintings have been reviewed in Art & Antiques, Artnet, Art in America and Artweek Magazine, among others.

Ted Larsen

 “We are living in challenging times. We have many issues to address and we must figure out the best and most reasonable solution to them. It will require all of us to come together similar to how I considered the secret boxes all joined together for each “Buddha in Repose” or “Stand Up, Buddha” sculpture. But purity also comes from distillation. Through a process of removal, things become more clear. What is removed can be as important as what remains. Life is about winnowing the chaff to find the good."

– Ted Larsen

Ted Larsen graduated magna cum laude from Northern Arizona University and is a recipient of the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant Award, the Artist Stipend Award, Wichita Falls Art Council, Texas, Surdna Foundation Education Travel Grant, New York, United States Representative to the Asilah Arts Festival, Morocco Representative and the Edward Albee Foundation Residency Fellowship. His work has been exhibited in solo shows at the New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM, Albuquerque Museum, Amarillo Museum of Art, TX, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO, Northern Arizona University Museum, Flagstaff, AZ, along with exhibitions at art centers and gallery venues across the U.S. and internationally. Larsen’s work is in the collections of the New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM, the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, The Edward F. Albee Foundation, Procter & Gamble, Fidelity Investments, National Broadcasting Company, The Bolivian Consulate, Reader’s Digest, PepsiCo, The University of Miami, Krasl Art Center, Dreyfus Funds, JP Morgan Chase, Forbes and Pioneer Hi-Bred, Inc.

Wendi Harford

“I have gained a new appreciation for the making of these paintings. The nature of the material itself, making its way without any intervention. The repetitive, almost ritualistic process has become more of a meditation. I am fortunate to be able to experience that.

The current events that have taken place in the last few months have turned everything upside down, altering the sense of time as I’ve known it. Painting, being a personal and solitary endeavor was at first unchanged. Yet, this period of isolation feels different.  As weeks passed, the isolation intensified the sense of time shifted.  There is a feeling of a widening or expansion of space. This has created the opportunity to relax a bit, step back, reflect; to rearrange and adjust. 

I believe creative pursuits inspire and encourage hope. It is my hope art will do that, even if only for a brief moment, and offer a bit of positive relief.”  

– Wendi Harford

A BFA graduate of the University of Denver, Wendi Harford also attended the Parson’s School of Design and the School of Visual Arts in NYC. Her paintings have frequently been included in exhibitions at Arvada Center for Arts and Humanities, Arvada, CO, Carbondale Center for the Arts, Carbondale, CO, Denver International Airport and Republic Plaza, Denver, CO and most notably her work was included in the Metropolitan State University’s Center for Visual Art important exhibition entitled “Colorado Women in Abstraction” which coincided with Denver Art Museum’s groundbreaking “Women of Abstract Expressionism.” 

Betty Merken

“I’m always asking myself, “How many ways can this unfold?” “How else can I work this?” I do not use a computer as drawing tool, although I know that it would be much quicker. I’m a classicist at heart and for me the classic use of a pencil, with a soft eraser nearby, leaves previous lines and forms as pentimento traces, which I find compelling. And sometimes an unexpected drip occurs and by itself it anchors the painting. Painting takes time. And love takes time. Time has been realigned by the unexpected pandemic within our midst and by its effects on our lives and on our creativity. More than ever I want to make something I haven't seen before.”

– Betty Merken

                Betty Merken received her B.A in Arts Education from the University of Washington and has participated in programs with organizations such as Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine, and the University of California, Los Angeles. Her work has been exhibited in over one hundred solo and group exhibitions in galleries throughout the United States, Japan, China, and Italy,  and can be found in the permanent collections of major museums including the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (the de Young Museum and the California Palace of the Legion of Honor), the UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles,  CA, the Portland Art Museum in Portland, OR, the Long Beach Museum of Art, CA, and the Civita Institute, Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy. Merken has been honored with fellowships from the Pinea-Linea de Costa Foundation, in Rota, Spain, the BAU Institute in Otranto, Italy and New York and the Civita/Northwest Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies in Italy. Her work can be found in numerous private and public collections in the United States, Asia, and Europe, including the United States Embassy Phnom Penh, Cambodia, General Electric, Brussels, Belgium, Neiman Marcus Corporation and Nordstrom. She is the co-author with Stefan Merken of “Wall Art, Megamurals” and Supergraphics (Philadelphia: Running Press, 1987).

Adapt (Iteration 2) from Robischon Gallery on Vimeo.