Miriam Escofet creates rich oil paintings of idyllic scenes that nostalgically allude to classical antiquity. Perhaps the only notes of pessimism in these sumptuous depictions of ornate architecture, statues and jewels is that Escofet’s heavenly world seem to be nearly devoid of human inhabitants. This is a place that seems to belong to the gods — too perfect for mortals. Escofet originally studied 3D design and set out to be a ceramicist, which explains her attention to texture and volume. Each crease of fabric and crevice within a tree’s bark is rendered with precision. Light and shadow are greatly contrasted to a level beyond what we normally experience with the human eye, making Escofet’s fictional lands seem vivid yet illusory.
Detail
Detail
Orion Martin applies a startling ability to play with textures, shifting planes, and focus to an unexpected assortment of objects and characters. His shifting between mediums adds to the guessing game of looking at a particular piece and attempting to dissect each element’s nature. He's often been linked to the representational artists under the Chicago Imagists moniker.
Shortly after his last solo show in February, we had a chance to visit 
New Mexico painter