Susan Maakestad: Land and Sky

OPENING RECEPTION: July 10, 5:30 - 8:00pm 

ShapeShifter presents the ethereal abstract paintings of Susan Maakestad. She utilizes her decades-long fascination with highway webcams alongside a passion for vast landscapes to create compelling abstract paintings. The tension between abstraction and illusionism generates something familiar and yet unknown, of this world and yet also otherworldly. The show runs July 1 through August 15 in the downstairs gallery. Opening reception is on Friday, July 10 from 5:30 pm 8:00 pm, and there will be an Artist Talk on July 25 at 11:00 am.

Maakestad states, “The unobstructed horizon line is a key element in
my work and a source of great pleasure when I see it in real life. The
empty vistas and changing light provoke a degree of wistful
contemplation. During the pandemic, I became obsessed with the work of British
painter John Constable (d.1837). I felt a connection to his work, particularly his skies and use of light. I made hundreds of watercolor studies based on his highly complex paintings, reducing their information until I arrived at an essence: something of him became part of me.”

Visit https://shapeshifterartschool.com/pages/susan-maakestad to learn more.

ShapeShifter Art School and Gallery is located at 680 Oakleaf Office Lane Memphis, TN 38117

Our gallery hours are Thursday, Friday and Saturday 9am - 3pm and Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment.