Date/Time
Date(s) - 04/21/2016
6:30 pm
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Location
Light Hall Theater
1000 W. College Avenue
- Silver City, NM
Edwina & Charles Milner Women in the Arts Lecture Series:
Star Liana York, Bronze Artist
Thursday, April 21 at 6:30 pm, Light Hall
5:30 pm — Pre-lecture Reception on the patio at Light Hall
Student Workshop scheduled for Friday, April 22.
Long recognized as one of the premiere figurative Western and wildlife sculptors in the country, she has won numerous Best of Show Awards, and has been featured on numerous magazine covers. On its 30th anniversary, Southwest Art selected her as one of the most influential artists profiled in their magazine over the previous three decades.
About Star Liana York
Star Liana York grew up in Maryland, daughter of a professional ballerina and a talented woodworker. Always displaying a strong affinity for animals as a child, she purchased her first horse as a teenager and began competing in speed events and rodeos. She operated a horse boarding and training business through college (graduating form the University of Maryland in Studio Art) but always dreamed of coming out West. This dream was realized about 30 years ago when she located a casting facility in Santa Fe, New Mexico, moved there and has used the foundry ever since.
Star tells the story of her life and her discoveries through her bronzes. Since moving to the Southwest in 1985, she has created a vast body of work that reflects her boundless interest in the people, animals, environment and history of the region.
A continuing source of inspiration comes from her exploration of the native peoples of the area – Navajo, apache, Hopi and Pueblo – in addition to the wildlife and unique rock art. She is a part of a new group of artists who are reworking the stereotypical Western subjects. “Using Native American imagery as a vehicle for expressing certain themes,” she states, “carries great symbolic and emotional impact. The Western myth is very much a part of our collective psyche as Americans and, as such, communicates a strong message.”
Inspired also by the mysteries ad mythology of ancient sacred sites, the artist brings a special sensitivity to capturing her subjects’ cultural identity, whether indigenous or ranch life, and celebrates them by preserving her observations through her medium – bronze.
Star says, “When a character emerges from a work I am sculpting, I feel touched at a deeply intimate, subconscious level. It is the essence in a work of art that makes it intensely personal and entirely universal at the same time. I’m much more comfortable with animals. I trust the emotion of animals and horses. I understand where they are coming from and their behavior is honest. Read more