Meet local artist Mary Shindell, who creates exquisite drawing-based 2D and 3D works, centering on landscape and botanical imagery.
She favors drawing to other mediums utilizing traditional materials such and a reoccurring theme and influence in her work is the Sonoran desert. For Shindell “drawing offers an intimacy that exists in no other medium, allowing me to construct layered surfaces of line and texture,” resulting in work that combines the intricacy of drawing with subtle abstraction, beautiful color palettes and familiar subject matter.
Shindell’s most recent drawings focus on plants that are intended to resemble satellite images (like those of Google Earth) stating “I am layering the images of the terrain around the valley into and around drawings of aerial views of agaves, wildflowers, and other plant life near my studio, focusing on the similarities of surface and texture between images of the earth from a distance and images of the plants at close range.”
Her interest in art began at as a child at a young age, growing up going to city arts programs. She is formally trained in the arts receiving her Bachelors Fine Arts in Painting from Northern Arizona University and her Masters Fine Arts in Drawing from Arizona State University. She is the founding member of Five15 Arts Gallery, a wonderful artist collective and has been an active and vital part of the Phoenix arts community. Five15 Arts Gallery is located downtown in the heart of Roosevelt Row at 515 E. Roosevelt Street with more information available online at: and www.five15arts.com.
Her artwork has been featured in numerous publications both online and in print including Arizona Republic, Java Magazine, and Phoenix New Times. Shindell’s work is widely collected in both public and private collections and her artwork has garnered awards throughout the years. She has exhibited work throughout the nation at both galleries and museums including the ASU Art Museum, Shemer Art Center, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Northern Arizona University Art Museum, just to name a few.
Her exhibition schedule has been filled with recently participating in a group exhibition Connections to the Natural World at the LA Artcore Gallery at The Brewery Annex in Los Angeles. Followed by a solo exhibition at Five15 Arts Gallery this past February titled “Desert Chandeliers”, receiving rave reviews for her engaging and dynamic mixed media chandelier installations. Shindell incorporates her striking drawings along with breathtaking mixed media installations, creating fantastic chandeliers that utilize archival ink jet prints, digitally drawn imagery printed on Plexiglas, styrene including optical fiber and LED lights.
Currently she is busy working in the public art realm creating numerous projects including a temporary site- specific installation TechShop Chandler, 249 E. Chicago St. Chandler, Arizona titled Digital Desert, Agave Unfurling, which was chosen for InFlux Cycle 6 at the Chandler Arts Commission, February 2016-January 2017. Lastly Valley Metro RPTA, the light rail commissioned artwork for the terrazzo wall panels and Traction Power Substation #18, titled Bougainvillea, located at Las Palmaritas and 19th Avenue. Still want to learn more information about artist Mary Shindell visit her online: http://www.maryshindell.com. *All images are courtesy and copyright of the artist Mary Shindell along with gallery photographs captured by Monica Aissa Martinez and Nicole Royse.
