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Las Vegas artist Mary Warner received her M.F.A. from California State University in Sacramento and is now an associate professor of art at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she has taught for the last 10 years. Warner is the recipient of individual Fellowships from both the Mid-America Arts Alliance and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her work is included in public collections throughout Nevada and California and has been exhibited nationwide. Best known for her floral and botanical drawings and paintings, Warner breathes new life into this age-old subject, offering strong evidence with each delicately rendered fold that art that is purely beautiful holds its’ place in the realm of contemporary art. Warner’s botanical studies explore the subtle intricacies and lushness of leaf and flower forms with remarkable attention to detail. She paints enormous blossoms with translucent finely veined petals which seem to float in space, and renders scroll-like leaf forms curling and twisting up through darkness as though conjured up from one’s dream. At times her imagery is presented highly rendered, leaping from the surface with superrealism while within the same space obscured, skeletal line drawings exist like a glimpse into the artist’s sketchbook. Warner also delves into the risky territory of black velvet, exploiting the material in interesting ways by introducing botanical forms to its’ unconventional surface. Images of enormous plums take over the velvety picture plane, becoming ripe with the rich, luxurious sensuality of the fabric. |
