The Sculpture of Nicolai Fechin

The exhibition features nine sculptures in wood and bronze ny the Russian born artist, Nicolai Fechin, who emigrated to the United States andsettled in the artist's colony in Taos, New Mexico.

The sculptures give a view of the artist's exploration of the potential of a new medium.

Nicolai Fechin, trained in the academic tradition in Russia, concentrated in his career on portraiture in oils and charcoal. After settling in Taos, the artist expanded his range of subject matter to include landscapes, still lifes and animal studies.

At Taos Fechin also experimented with the medium of sculpture, using fireplace logs to carve imaginative heads of figures. Fechin used the texture of the wood to guide his carving and find potentially inherent figures. His sensitivity to the material can be seen in his use of the grain of wood to define features in works such as "Untitled: Head of a Young Girl."

In addition to the wood carvings, Fechin also modeled in plaster, creating sculptures intended to be cast in bronze. "Indian Head," the bronze sculpture in the exhibition, was based on Fechin 's studies of a young Taos resident who posed for his paintings.