"There is a long line of artists who have built their reputations by creating images of America’s Southwest, and some of them — like Georgia O’Keeffe and Agnes Martin — became global superstars. It’s a legacy that inspires contemporary painters — like Esteban Cabeza de Baca and Heidi Howard — to create their own scenes of the treasured landscape, but in more contemporary, 21st-century styles. The hard-working painters are paired in a pop-up show at David B. Smith Gallery in Lodo, giving local art fans a chance to go deep on their talents. Similar to their predecessors, both of these artists indulge in presenting the details of nature, loading up their canvases with scenes of abundant flora, rocky cliffs and wide open skies. But they also make things personal, recognizing that plants and flowers have their own living spirits and personalities, and allowing their individual relationships with nature, weather and travel to come through in the work. They represent the best of a new generation."
