Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Prints weave cultural romance

Gail Severn Gallery presents Gay Odmark


By MEGAN THOMAS
Express Staff Writer

"Shah and Mumtaz I" by Gay Bawa Odmark. Monotype, 19" x 17" Photo by Willy Cook

An unsuspected union weds the East to the West in a vibrant visual romance hosted by the Gail Severn Gallery. The harmonious cultural marriage reverberates in a new series "Roots of a Romantic Notion" by artist Gay Bawa Odmark. The Ketchum gallery features the show now through mid-April.

Odmark offers a new series of 10 monotype prints featuring two birds that melodically occupy the works. The pieces are deeply rooted in Odmark's Eastern upbringing.

The Ketchum-based artist courts an international romance that weaves throughout her life. She was raised in northern India, schooled in Britain and later moved to the United States. Now, a long time Wood River Valley resident, her work continues to reflect Eastern influences.

"I am so busy doing my India, it's just still pouring out of me," Odmark said. "The first 18 years of my life that's how I lived, that influence just doesn't go away."

Her works are inundated with a wide range of Eastern and Western symbolism.

"I use a lot of symbols because I find a lot of their relationships very similar, whether a cross or a cow, they all seem very compatible," Odmark commented.

The "Roots of a Romantic Notion" series calls upon symbolism found in a Mughal story. The works are based upon a tale detailing the return of King Shah Jehan and Queen Mumtaz Mahal as birds to the Taj Mahal. The prints incorporate the perfect symmetry and balance that emanate from the Taj Mahal.

The series also integrates flowers and botanicals, with the lotus emerging as a vital visual element. The lotus occupies a meaningful space for Odmark.

The artist recalls her father advising, "You must learn to live like the lotus and be above the pettiness and negativity of your own thoughts. People have their own problems, so you must not think that it is all about you."

Her father's wisdom inherent in the lotus, emerged during Odmark's recent visit to India.

During the trip, she coincidentally avoided the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami. The experience prompted her to establish a fund for an acquaintance ravaged by the disaster. Many valley residents generously donated their help.

Upon her return to America, Odmark also entertained a new perspective on her prints.

"What I liked about (the prints) more, is they are very spring-like and hopeful, yet the birds are very serious," she said.

Odmark worked closely with Jennifer Galpin Mikesh, a printer with Vita Brevis in Hailey, to complete the series.




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