Wood and neon are among the materials used in the latest Nevada Arts Council exhibit at the OXS Gallery, 716 N. Carson St. in Carson City.
“Then and now: Works by Elaine Jason & Maria Arango-Diener, Governor’s Arts Awards Visual Arts Commission Artists” exemplifies the diversity of contemporary visual arts in Nevada. The exhibit will be on display from Nov. 10 to Jan. 23. Jason will discuss her artwork at a reception from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20.
In Arango-Diener’s woodcut prints, the wood grain, paper texture and ink lend themselves to the style and subject matter found in her prints. The abstract forms that connect Jason’s neon sculptures relate to the aesthetics of sculptural constructivism and the layering of events and places in her life. Using power tools, acrylic paints and found objects, she creates art that delivers the abstraction of forms, colors and luminous neon light.
Jason was the receipient of a 2012 Pollack-Krasner Foundation grant and received funding from the Andy Warhol Foundation for a retrospective catalog and solo exhibition at the Oats Park Arts Center in Fallon in 2011. Her work has been exhibited at the Museum of Neon Art in Los Angeles, among other locations. Her commissioned projects include work for the Lockheed Martin Corp., Kaiser Permanente Health Care facility, the Nevada Museum of Art and Countrywide Funding Corporation.
Arango-Diener has exhibited recently in the United Kingdom and at the Clark County and Las Vegas Library District. She was a resident artist in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Her awards include best of show, Boulder City Arts Festival; best of show award in printmaking, Art Fest of Henderson and the Tempe Art Festival; and best of category, Celebrating Life! 2014 Fine Arts Competition in Las Vegas; and a purchase award from the Springfield Museum of Art.
Managed by NAC’s Artists Services Program, OXS, the Office eXhibition Series Gallery, features artists who have been recognized by the agency through its Artist Fellowships, Governor’s Arts Awards Visual Arts Commissions and exhibits from the agency’s Nevada Touring Initiative—Traveling Exhibition Program.
The Nevada Arts Council, a division of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, is the agency charged with ensuring that state and national funds support cultural activity and encourage participation in the arts throughout Nevada. In addition to providing grants to arts- and community-based organizations, schools, artist and local municipalities throughout the state, the NAC coordinates such statewide programs as the annual Poetry Out Loud recitation competition for high school-aged students, traveling exhibits, artist residencies, workshops and cultural assessments. For more information, call 775-687-6680.
