Summertime at Pie Projects
Joanne Lefrak and Martha Tuttle
June 18– July 10
Press Release
Richard Levy Gallery is pleased to present Summertime at Pie Projects, a two-person show that features scratched portraits in plexiglass by Joanne Lefrak and mixed media paintings by Martha Tuttle. Both artists play with light, shadow, and bodily relationships. This exhibition is presented in Santa Fe, NM in partnership with Pie Projects.
Joanne Lefrak scratches portraits of women she knows into plexiglass surfaces. Authenticity is primary. Her portraits are not idealized and she is unconcerned with social obsessions for youth or perfection rather Lefrak’s subjects are middle-aged women who are fully empowered and in the prime of their lives. The shadows cast from the scratched renderings define each image making visible the beauty of persona, age, and the power of the women. In addition to being an artist, Lefrak is the Director of Education and Curator of Public Practice at SITE Santa Fe and a strong advocate for promoting women in the arts. Her work has been exhibited at MASS MoCA, ev+a in Ireland, Albuquerque Museum, and the New Mexico Museum of Art, among others.
Martha Tuttle uses traditional techniques to create mixed media paintings. She spins, weaves, and dyes wool and embellishes her handmade fabrics with an assortment of mediums such as graphite, stone dust, and natural pigments. Instead of laying paint onto the surface of a canvas, the painting is the surface. Tuttle’s abstract compositions comprise a variety of hand-crafted materials of varying opacities. Her paintings reference bodily connections to the natural world through texture and translucence. Martha Tuttle holds an MFA from Yale and currently has an installation at Storm King Art Center in New York’s Hudson Valley. Her work has been shown internationally and has been featured in Artforum, The New York Times, Hyperallergic, among other publications. Tuttle grew up in New Mexico and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
Pie Projects is a flexible event/gallery space that hosts art-related events to support human creativity, artists, and allied arts organizations. Launched in 2021 by Alina Boyko and Devendra Contractor, Pie Projects is located in the Baca Railyard District in Santa Fe, NM.
Richard Levy Gallery shows contemporary art in all mediums by emerging and established regional, national, and international artists. This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of Richard Levy Gallery.
This exhibition is presented online and by appointment from June 18 to July 10. Images for this exhibition can be viewed on ARTSY.net and www.levygallery.com. High-resolution images are available on request. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @levygallery @pieprojects.santafe @jlefrak @marthatuttle #richardlevygallery #pieprojects #summertimeatpieprojects #joannelefrak #marthatuttle
Dates: June 18–July 10, 2021
Reception: June 26, 5:00–7:00 pm
Gallery Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 11 am–6 pm
Location: Pie Projects, 924 B Shoofly Street Santa Fe, NM 87505
Contact: 505.766.9888, info@levygallery.com, www.levygallery.com @levygallery