SURFACE TREATMENT: Parallels of Concept

These two artists get back to basics in their art. Sara Waters and Suzanne Paquette exhibit works that share their love and fascination of the natural world, their variances of concept becoming points of interest. The two-person, mixed media, exhibition, “Parallels of Concept: Interpreter and Translator,” is currently on display at STC’s Library Art Gallery.

Both artists are inspired by phenomena of the natural world. That said, the metaphorical fork in the road begins to appear. Paquette speaks of cosmic energy and its ramifications. Her passion for natural sciences and the environment have influenced her art since childhood, and her artwork focuses on images of heaven and earth. The oil painting, Ascencion, demonstrates this dual interest; a realistic image of a mountain surrounded by flows of cosmic energy.

Parallels of Concept: Interpreter and Translator
By: Sara Waters and Suzanne Paquette
Where: STC Library Art Gallery, Pecan campus, McAllen 
When:  through Oct. 23, campus hours
Info:   872-3488, e-mail: libraryart@southtexascollege.edu

Her images often have a different appearance and a different feeling, due to the medium. “When I worked on the rubber in Star Fields, I was a little more poetic,” said Paquette. “I m talking about the stars, the energy of the stars.”

Paquette takes responsibility for what she creates, both aesthetically and environmentally. Often collecting raw, biodegradable, recyclable materials to work with. These materials include paints, from natural color and select clays, plants, berries, and tea. Often upon the completion of an installation, her artwork is dismantled and sifted into her garden.

“I enjoy working in natural materials with a low-tech process,” said Paquette. “I manipulate materials to evoke some quality of the inherent nature of that particular substance. I am most satisfied when the energy of the image and the medium carry an equal balance of visual interest.”

Sara Waters’ works display an earthier ambiance. Her multiples wall installation, After 2002 Series, and other works in this exhibition, reveal her interest in history and in documenting (capturing) the moment. These moments consist of finding and collecting old rusted metal objects, then documenting them by staining their impressions on paper. The stains extend the shapes of the objects into distorted reflections. Auras for the obsolete.

“I attempt to work from a place of discovery and response to my thoughts, emotions, and environment,” said Waters. Bent Wire with Grass (Parking Lot, Lubbock Texas) is a framed impression with typed documentation placed over the image creating a sense of protection over the fragile vision. It feels like a museum artifact.

“Interpreter and translator,” mused David Freeman, Curator of the Library Art Gallery, in reference to the artists. They cross over so much. Part of their work is about ideas, and they both reinvent materials that we then look at in a different way. Their symbols and images parallel each other’s work.” 

Suzanne Paquette is a professional artist from San Antonio. Sara Waters is a professor of art at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

Nancy Moyer, Professor Emerita of Art, UTPA, is an art critic for The Monitor. She may be reached at nmoyer@rgv.rr.com