A Prayer for the Earth Eco Installation
Contemporary Artist Series 2012: Tribal Stories
Here and Now Gallery
Museum of the Southwest
Midland, Texas
January 27-March 18, 2012
A series of solo exhibitions comprised of stories told either by or about Native American Indians using a variety of contemporary and traditional media made possible by the Arts Council of Midland, TX
Linda Vallejo’s art grows out of her experiences with different cultures over the course of decades of travel and careful study. From her home base in Topanga Canyon, California, she has been involved with Native American and Mexican rituals and ceremonies for the past 25 years. In part the theme of her work is the devastation done to the planet, but she also touches on the healing powers of ceremony and the interaction of the basic elements: earth, water, fire, and air.
Betty Ann Brown, art historian, curator and critic
In Lewis Hyde’s seminal study The Gift, Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property, Hyde notes that artistic gifts can be transformational. If Hyde were writing today, he might focus on a contemporary artist like Linda Vallejo, an artist whose oeuvre is comprised of compelling gifts. Vallejo’s works—from the early pre-Columbian inspired assemblage pieces, to the Tree People, to the paintings of spirits in nature, to the singular depictions of skies and mountains and trees, to the Postmodern altars, to the Prayers for the Earth installations—are beautifully crafted offerings. Like the ceremonies the artist continues to organize, her artworks “feed” us spiritually as well as visually. Made by an extraordinary woman and presented to a world in great need, they are indeed artistic gifts.
Artist’s view of the earth fills museum, Midland Reporter Telegram, by Georgia Temple, February 8, 2012
Exhibition announcement Museum of the Southwest website