Pareidolia

Pareidolia

November 29 - December 17, 2022

Reception: December 2, 5-7PM

Strata Gallery presents a solo exhibition, Pareidolia, by Santa Fe-based artist and poet Jane Shoenfeld. The exhibition opens November 29th, with a reception on December 2nd from 5-7PM, including an artist’s talk at 6PM.

In Jane Shoenfeld’s richly colored pastel paintings, recognizable images hover inside abstraction. Pareidolia is the tendency to impose a specific vision on an ambiguous visual pattern. In Shoenfeld’s work, birds, doors, fish, asteroids, and fire memories coalesce and then shift identities under the lingering gaze. The same color, a golden orange, may glow as in radiance or blaze as in flame in such pieces as “Fly-Float,” “Archetypal Fireball,” or “Fish Forest.” Two 54” long horizontal pieces (approximately 23” in height) are included in this exhibit along with seven small mixed media pieces (think less than 8” in any direction) as well as six paintings in more standard (18”x24”) measurements. 

In addition to her BFA in Fine Arts and MPS in Art Therapy from Pratt Institute, Shoenfeld taught for 15 years at the former College of Santa Fe. “The Creative Process” was a favorite course for art, psychology and creative writing students. A frequently used text was The Courage to Create by Rollo May, 1975. Jane states “I stand behind May’s words “Commitment is healthiest when it is not without doubt but in spite of doubt.”  She holds the belief that in her creative work, she must proceed without “knowing.”  

In 2022, Jane Shoenfeld’s series of pastels based on “The Second Coming” by WB Yeats, were featured in Paintings and Poetry: The Center Cannot Hold at the Visual Arts Gallery at the Santa Fe Community College. The First Street Gallery in NYC has represented Shoenfeld’s work since the mid 80’s, and numerous public buildings funded through NM Arts in Public Places display Shoenfeld’s work. In recent years, Shoenfeld has attended residencies at Jentel Arts, Dorland Mountain Arts Colony, David and Julia White Artist Colony in Costa Rica and Virginia Center for Creative Arts. Some of the work in this exhibit, including “Archetypal Fireball,” was initiated during residencies. Shoenfeld, a NYC transplant, moved to Santa Fe in 1987.

Masks required.

Photo: Jane Shoenfeld, Flaming Stars, Pastel and Acrylic on Handmade Paper, 20 7/8” x 20 .”