|
“As a viewer, one (also) enters this artistic space in Touchón's paintings and hand prints. She presents landscapes and architectural views that one can amble through in their mind's eye. The viewer’s intimate reaction to such prints as Picacho, however, belies Touchón’s aggressive and highly physical approach to the work. Such large-scale prints require her to work on oversized woodblocks, and the prints themselves must be hand rubbed rather than run through a printing press. The almost Asian appreciation Touchón shows for the expressive quality of the wood grain, the artisanal approach she takes to her work and the emphasis she places on delicate pattern, is balanced by the sheer size and physicality of the prints she produces.”
“Her recent representations of desert botanicals represent a link to her past work, and show how she has remained observant to the natural world around her. Instead of the lush paint box colors of her former midwestern garden, however, Touchón finds inspiration in the tenacious breeds that have conquered this less hospitable Southwestern terrain. Expressive charcoal marks outline growing, barbed forms in her recent large-scale painting on paper, Pinchos y Espinas, while freely applied layers of gouache and watercolor in cool blues and greens refresh the viewer like a long drink of water. Ouida Touchón celebrates the spines and thorns that come with the sun-saturated territory of her newly adopted home, recognizing the new growth that can occur among the challenging beauty of this environment.”
Stephanie Taylor, PhD Art History, NMSU, Las Cruces, NM
|