Patina Gallery is excited to present Abstracting Blue, featuring the fine art photography of our own co-founder and gallery director, Ivan Barnett.

“Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot see physically with his eyes. Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond the tangible, to extract the infinite out of the finite. It is the emancipation of the mind. It is an exploration into unknown areas”
Arshile Gorky

In the spring of 2022, Barnett set out on a journey without direction, passionately searching for quiet moments of blue abstraction. The more he drove, the deeper he looked. From the local streets of Santa Fe to the quiet village of El Rito, looking to uncover timeless secrets in the land of enchantment.

Through a series of abstract visuals Barnett takes us on vivid journey through very personal and introspective lens.

Barnett recounts the story of his search for his own “blue” abstractions:

In the spring of 2022, while our Santa Fe mountains still had snowcapped peaks, I arose at 5 o’clock on a Sunday morning and set off on a journey of blue discovery with only my Fujifilm cameras in hand.

I began to drive and wander, passionately searching for quiet moments of blue abstraction. For weeks I had been doing my research and taking notes of locations to return to. As in the past, I was always looking to uncover timeless secrets in the Land of Enchantment—a place that has stayed in my heart and soul for 70 years.

As I drove through Santa Fe, I first headed downtown for stops on Guadalupe Street where I had remembered seeing a mural that caught my eye. From there, I wandered onto the railroad tracks near Cerrillos Road with a stop on Baca Street, marking the southern end of the Railyard.

As the world started to slowly awaken on that Sunday morning, I was drawn to the serene town of Lamy—a place where time has stopped still. This small village in northern New Mexico offers solitude and stillness. Inspired by my artist heroes, Marsden Hartley, John Marin and Arthur Dove, who just a hundred years before had stepped off the train for the first time at this exact place, eager to explore mystical New Mexico, I too was eager for a creative adventure.

After two hours of picture taking, I was ready to move up the road to the town of Espanola, just north of Santa Fe. Espanola was still waking up that morning. Life in this railroad village looked like it did when I stayed there in the early 70s—raw, wild and rugged. Once again, I was able to return to my youth simply by turning off the main road, a road that leads in one direction to the majestic landscapes of Taos, and in the other, to the historical city of Santa Fe. The more I drove, the deeper I looked. Murals galore were just waiting for me to isolate them in time with the click of my shutter. The quiet streets were so rich with history.

I could have kept wandering, but slowly felt the world starting to move again. While the abstract seemed to keep me moving without direction, I was unable to inhibit the pull of my day’s distractions.

Ivan Barnett
Co-founder, Patina Gallery

For more information on the work, please email: allison@patina-gallery.com

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