Be continues make color behave
By George Kanesta
Sun Correspondent
“I’m always trying to make color do things,” Be Sargent says of her upcoming one-woman show, Incolor, presented by gallupARTS at ART123 Gallery. The show will run from April 11 to May 2. Wanting to separate herself from the legacy of painter John Singer Sargent, Be, as she prefers to be called, works to make color behave in this third installment of her abstract art series.
Incolor, Be continues her visual journey from previous shows, Color Behave and Color Behave 2, exploring color’s interplay and how it evokes emotions. She uses five palettes across three different pieces to observe their reactions, aiming for balance and harmony.
Describing herself as a draft person, Be begins by drawing foundational lines, visualizing what she wants, before allowing the color to take cover. When the colors start to ‘behave’, the drawing is set aside, as colors demand room to expand, finding a life of their own within the space created by lines.
While creating pieces for the show, she observed a reaction between violet and brown, which created a “hotspot,” an unpleasant occurrence when one color dominates the visual space. During the encounter, she watched how violet stole the spotlight from brown, reinforcing her belief that “colors just behave.”
“It’s hard to say in words what you’re trying to say in color,” she said.
While she jokingly hopes that her show causes audiences to fall over in joy and hail her as a saint, her real intent is to engage peoples’ vision by solving the visual puzzle of how she used the same colors across all three pieces.
Be believes that art is now appreciated primarily on screen, spoiling the eyes without engaging the physical beauty of material art and color. In her view, physical art forces the eyes to do actual, physical work.
She hopes that her show will help waken the eyes.
“It’s almost like food,” Be said. “It’s a satisfying thing for their eyes to see gorgeous colors.”
Seeking more than visual nourishment, Be hoped that viewing the red paint in her pieces could mimic the health benefit of infrared light for her specific eye condition. Inspired by this hope, she reached out to Professor of Neuroscience, Glenn Jeffery, at the University of College London to explore if reflected light from her paintings could strengthen her vision, and audiences’ as well.
After a three-month study, Jeffery came to the conclusion that there are no health benefits because there’s no infrared light in reflective red, as it behaves differently from infrared light. While she hoped her theory would be proven correct, Be was grateful Professor Jeffery provided an extensive study into her idea.
Rose Eason, Executive Director of gallupARTS, noted that Be creates new visual experiences every year using elements of line and colors.
“It’s exciting to be part of her process and to journey with her deeper into her exploration of color,” she said.
Reflecting on a career spanning magazines, corporate art, and murals, Be now embraces her full creative freedom as an independent artist. Drawing from her deep understanding of color communication, she switches effortlessly between her previous mediums and abstract work.
As a resident of Pinehill, N.M., Be draws inspiration to continue exploring the beautiful New Mexico colors in her landscape paintings, though she humbly notes she’s no Georgia O’Keeffe. Looking ahead, she hopes her art will carry a political voice, but she said she’s struggling with how to proceed, feeling stalled by her anger at the current political and social climate.
She continues to be a universal artist, hoping that her success will bring much-needed recognition to the artistic talent in Gallup. She noted that while many believe great artists reside only in Santa Fe, Gallup is actually home to many great artists.
Regardless of the direction she takes, Be is committed to discovering new ways colors behave everyday.
“I just hope to have more and more breakthroughs in color,” she said.
Incolor will open on April 11 with an artist talk scheduled for April 21 at 6 pm at the ART123 Gallery.
