It felt so good to be showing my work in art exhibits again in 2022!
The double whammy of covid and moving across the country in 2020 made it feel like I was starting all the way over with exhibiting. In some ways I was - Denver has multiple art districts and I wasn’t sure where my art would fit, and I didn’t have an art community like I had started to build in Virginia before the move. But in some ways I wasn’t starting over - I knew where to look for opportunities, I knew what to look for in a Call for Entry to know that I wasn’t wasting my time, and I knew how to describe and price and display my work. I ended up taking my time before trying to get my art out of my studio, though, spending several days over many months in 2021 and 2022 exploring Denver’s galleries to see what was being created and shown here. Then I just needed to take the leap and apply. Looking back, I am a bit surprised at how many exhibits I participated in this past year.
Here’s a look back at my exhibiting experinces in 2022, in reverse chronological order:
Today is Another Story, an 18x24 oil on canvas painting by Monica Hokeilen, sold
My painting, Today is Another Story, was selected as part of the juried exhibit Finding Common Ground in an Uncommon World at the Collective in Lafayette, CO that ran November 8, 2022 through January 8, 2023. This exhibit by the Women’s Caucus for Art Colorado Chapter included artwork by female artists from all backgrounds across Colorado that represent conflict with people of different ideologies and how we find common ground on issues important to us. In addition to a fun opening reception, the organizers planned several community events, including an artist discussion on Nov 26 and two audience discussions on Dec 7 and Jan 4, making this a very special exhibit to have participated in. And I am delighted share that my painting sold!
Artist Statement for Today is Another Story:
The populations and habitats of wildlife in the west are in flux as our climate warms and water becomes scarcer, but many Americans still resist efforts to curb global warming. Bison populations, while recovered from their rapid destruction 150 years ago, are still threatened by low genetic diversity, changing food sources, droughts, and habitat loss. Will they continue to represent the recovery of a species from the brink of extinction, and in that way possibly become a symbol of American fortitude and perseverance? Might they even someday come to represent living all our lives in harmony with nature, as they have for many American Indian societies? Today is just a moment in the larger story of what was and what will be.
These artworks are created over older paintings while trying to leave a little of the previous paintings peeking through. By doing this, I'm letting these versions of the paintings be a moment in a larger story, just as the frozen poses of the animals they depict.
I was honored to be included in the Square Foot Auction at the Artworks Center for Contemporary Art in Loveland, CO in September, 2022. Two of my paintings sold, one in their Opening Gala on Sept 23rd and one through the silent online auction that ran during the week of Sept 24-30. Artworks Center for Contemporary Art is at 310 N. Railroad Ave, Loveland, CO 80537.
Artist Statement for artwork in the Square Foot Auction
These are from my daily painting series of floral still lifes in which I completed a new, small painting each day in the fall and winter of 2021. Each is painted in oil on 10”x10” canvas, framed to 12”x12”, $250.
Winter Solstice: In celebration of the shortest day of the year, and appreciation for the beauty of the night.
All Dressed Up: A single flower, a simple vase.
Missing Life in the Sunlight (sold): This particular day felt heavy, and this wilting rose, fading under my studio lights, seemed right when I painted it, as if it too was missing the life that was, that could have been, should have been.
Life Lessons in an Orange Bouquet (sold): While painting this I had to step away for a few hours and came back to find the flowers lying on the table had wilted, creating the challenge of merging what I had done initially with the new reality. Sometimes plans change, and we adjust.
Love is Messy: Love is like a messy bouquet, beautiful in its imperfection, bigger than the vase you thought you'd need.
Icelandic Meltwater, 14”x14” oil on canvas, framed in natural pine, sold
Two of my paintings, Icelandic Meltwater and Kirkjufellsfoss Flow, were in the Mountains and Rivers exhibit at R Gallery in Boulder, Colorado. Both paintings were inspired by my trip to Iceland in Nov 2019 and created during the covid pandemic in 2021/2022. Mountains and Rivers ran from 13 July through 28 August, 2022 at 2027 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80302.
Kirkjufellsfoss Flow, 14”x14” oil on canvas, framed in natural pine $600
Artist Statement for Kirkjufellsfoss Flow:
The low light of a November day in Iceland reflects off snow and ice and water and casts a rosy glow to the sky as we stand at the top of a waterfall and watch the river flow away toward a bay and the mountains beyond.
It was the end of November 2019, and the end of an incredible 10 day solo trip to Iceland, when I visited the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and took the picture that would be the inspiration for this painting. This trip, these photos, would inspire many more paintings through the covid shutdowns, and would help to sustain my wanderlust until the world opened up again.
Between What Was and What Will Be, 20”x16” oil on canvas, framed in natural pine, $1000
Bison Study, 8”x10” oil on canvas, unframed, $240
Two of my bison paintings were on display in the August Members Showcase at 40 West Gallery in Lakewood, Colorado. Show ran August 5 - 26, 2022. Gallery hours are Wed - Sat from 12pm - 4pm. 6501 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood, CO 80214
Artist Statement for Between What Was and What Will Be and Bison Study:
In 2022, I’ve been following an impulse to paint elk and bison and other wildlife found in Colorado. Sometimes I create these by painting over older paintings while trying to leave a little of the previous painting peeking through. By doing this I'm letting this version of the painting be a moment in a larger story, just as the frozen pose of the animals they depict. In Between What Was and What Will Be, you can see the previous painting in the red lines on the face and in the lines and shapes in the upper body of the bison, with some yellow painted over the top. In Bison Study, the previous painting shows mostly in the painted sides of the canvas.
I am delighted that my piece, Time is Camouflage, was accepted to the juried exhibit "Animal Kingdom" at the Niza Knoll Gallery in the Arts District on Santa Fe in Denver! The opening reception on Friday May 13 from 5-8pm was a lot of fun, with a brewery right around the corner and other nearby art galleries also hosting opening receptions the same night! Other events during this exhibit included Sundays on Santa Fe (May 29) from 11-3pm and First Fridays on Santa Fe (June 3) from 4-8pm. Regular gallery hours were Thurs - Sun 1-4pm. Show ran May 13 - June 12. Niza Knoll Gallery, 915 Santa Fe Dr, Denver, CO 80204.
Two of my space-themed pieces were in the Evolving exhibit at NEXT Gallery in the 40 West Arts District of Denver, Jan 28 - Feb 13, 2022! Opening reception was Friday, Jan 28, from 5-10pm (masks required). NEXT Gallery is at 6851 W Colfax Ave in the 40 West Arts District of Lakewood, and is open Fri 6-10pm, Sat & Sun 12-5pm.
You can see my interview with NEXT Gallery about these pieces here: https://www.hokeilenart.com/blog/2022/2/5/interview-for-evolving-at-next-gallery