Dena Robertson creates layered mixed media works inspired by the natural environment, which explore the connection between people and the natural world. In making these works, the artist finds a way to connect to the natural spaces around her. In particular, she is drawn to the landscape of the Sierra Nevada foothills; their seasonal changes, colors, and wildness.

Several of the works on view here are inspired by the drive from the flatlands of the Central Valley up to the mountains and the transition from urban to rural space, through agricultural lands, to undulating fields that give way to rocks, trees, and ever steeper inclines. This sense of movement and change is reflected in how shapes and colors softly blur and blend together, the way they do when one views a landscape through a car, mirrored in roadside puddles. They are abstract, but still recognizable as natural forms.

Robertson takes her own photographs of the landscape of the Sierra Nevada foothills around Bass Lake; she then incorporates them into her paintings, cutting and layering them to create delicate mash-ups of the plants, trees, and hillsides around her. Her work also corresponds to mapping, with aerial views appearing in several pieces.

For more information about the artist or to purchase art work, please visit the artist’s website:
dena-robertson.com

Dena Robertson grew up in rural Indiana, where she found a deep love for working with the natural world as a material. She holds a BA in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, MD and subsequently undertook independent art studies in New York. Robertson has shown her works in numerous solo and group exhibitions at Gallery 825, Los Angeles, and others. She lives with her husband and children in Los Angeles and Bass Lake, CA.

This exhibition is presented by the Fresno Yosemite International Airport Arts & Culture program, which aims to welcome travelers to the Central Valley and showcase original works by artists who call this vibrant and diverse region home.