ARTIST STATEMENT
‘Ancestors Among the Ruins 1 (Rose Quartz)’ and ‘Goddesses Among the Ruins ll (Black Tourmaline)’ are companion pieces that emerged in my unconscious mind while I was looking for new expression for this small works members show. I was searching for illogical, dreamlike forms, and somewhat fantastical surroundings — so my mind travelled to ancient Greece. While transgressing boundaries, I’ve uncovered some fanciful friends in the autumn at the end of the harvest season when the veil between the living and the dead is especially thin. Ghostly apparitions have appeared and are standing before us, some seen and others unseen. Many believe that our ancestors are always present — as goddess spirit guides from ancient worlds keep us safe and protect us from harm. These new images are deeply connected to a desire for harmony, family, sisterhood, and nurturing energies to help us thrive.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
RHONDA URDANG is an interdisciplinary artist who has been inspired by the intersectional feminist and peace movements. She has had a varied and interesting career; she has worked as a typesetter, museum gallery attendant, apprentice dot etcher, and journeyman color separation artist on high-fashion catalogs in the graphic arts industry in Omaha and in Phoenix. Since leaving academia, the patriarchy and pseudoscience behind (some things are folktales and misbelief), her ingenuity has flourished. Her visionary art responds to historical and world events, when painting and the female artist are still being diminished, silenced, marginalized, and erased. Rhonda is interested in making art that challenges the narrative. She stays true to her artistic instincts and is always authentic. Her thought-provoking works have been exhibited widely in local, regional, national and international shows in 40 states. She has lived in Northern Arizona spanning four decades where stargazing has become a crucial aspect of her world on the Colorado Plateau.
© Rhonda Urdang