A Prayer for the Earth Eco Installation
solo exhibition
Charles H. MacNider Art Museum
Mason City, Iowa
April 13-June 23, 2012
Ann Landi, contributing editor of ARTnews and author of the four-volume Schirmer Encyclopedia of Art:
Ceremony and nature are also at the heart of Vallejo’s installations, particularly A Prayer for the Earth, which brought together so many different components of the artist’s vision. In part the theme was the devastation done to the planet, but the work also touches on the healing powers of ceremony and the interaction of the basic elements: earth, water, fire, and air.
Vallejo invented a powerful ritualistic site of her own in this work, a modern-day space for contemplation that nonetheless echoes the kinds of totems and sacred places we associate with Native American traditions. That Vallejo is able to channel and draw on so many aspects of her multicultural experience without breaking stride or overloading the viewer is a testament to her strengths as an artist. And her recognition that culture is no longer a matter of one dominant tradition makes her very much part of a mainstream that is constantly looking to expand the borders and boundaries of contemporary art and life.
A Prayer for the Earth Opens at MacNider, Globe Gazette, April 12, 2012
A Prayer for the Earth Exhibit Open Friday at Macnider Museum, North Iowa Today, April 12, 2012
California Artist to be at Macnider Museum Friday, North Iowa Today, April 20, 2012
Brochure MacNider Art Museum website