Experience the “Elements” at WNCC Gallery

“Elements,” a collection of large-scale paintings by Heather Patterson, will hang in the College Gallery at Western Nevada Community College Bristlecone Building, Monday, Feb. 26, through Friday, March 23. In this exhibit, the artist recreates patterns in the natural environment and then interprets their interaction with manmade surroundings.

“By analyzing these biological phenomena, I find similarities between their elements,” Patterson said. “This could be the way a topographical map echoes wood grain, how cracked pavement resembles a gnarled tree branch, or how an ant trail, the bloodstream and a highway all resemble each other from far enough away.”

The variety of media she uses creates a multi-sensory experience. “I use encaustic, oil paint, spray paint, stencils, resin, enamel, watercolor, gouache, and various other media that don’t normally go together,” she added. “I allow the various substances to mix randomly in areas while manipulating other areas by carving, dripping, melting, or spraying the surface.”

Patterson studied painting at Sonoma State University and received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Her work has appeared in the Arts/Benicia Gallery, the B. Sakata Gallery in Sacramento, the Berkeley Art Museum, the Fetterly Gallery in Vallejo, the Marin Headlands, the Mesh Gallery in Sebastapol, and the Works Gallery in San Jose.

There will be an artist’s reception Wednesday, Feb. 28, 4:30-6:30 p.m., in the gallery, and the public is invited.

Press Release: January 29, 2007

"Canyon" by Heather Patterson.