Alexi Hubbell’s photography show “Sirens,” which opened Friday at the Lost Dog Bar & Lounge, could be about the numbers: 13 women, 11 months in production, styles ranging from 25 B.C. (Cleopatra) through the 1940s to today, shot at altitudes up to 11,000 feet.
Instead, it’s about the beauty, mystique and sensuality of a diverse group of women Hubbell convinced to participate in the project, and her quest to present them as she sees them while paying homage to the cool, clear water of the arid Southwest. The images are compelling, from the one, straight-on face shot to others looking into the distance, fascinated by something we’d like to see, too, whether it’s far away or inside their minds.
Hubbell said countless hours went into “scouting locations, hunting down props and creating the right attire for each model.” Many of them suffered for the art, she said, standing in freezing water or in the rain to help her achieve her vision.
“I watched as these models transformed into the stuff of my dreams and more,” she said. “We have the most beautiful, graceful and tenacious women who are blessed with a backdrop beyond compare.”
The last time Hubbell had a photograph hanging in an exhibit at the Lost Dog, it was stolen. Here’s hoping these will be respected because the work is enhanced when viewed in its entirety.
While Hubbell’s photos hang in the front room, the bar area of the Lost Dog is graced by the paintings of Britt Gordon, who not only uses canvases of different sizes, but has also drafted old skateboards as a canvas of a different sort. Her subjects range from angels to owls, and one fish informs the viewer, “Way to be Koi.”
She, too, has used female models, also looking into the distance, based, she has said, on photos of good friends from college and her mother, who modeled in the 1970s. Some are contemplative, others are playful.
But perhaps the most striking piece is “Come and See,” a deep, saturated royal blue that looks like a peacock feather from afar, until one accepts the invitation and a closer look reveals a crowd of people instead of feathers.
Gordon also uses scribbled words and sometimes just scribbles layers in her work. It takes a moment to notice the electrode on the painting called “Please Heal,” adding meaning to a carefully detailed spinal column.
“I use intuitive painting processes,” she says in her online portfolio, “and specific imagery to project my view of this imponderable world in which we exist.”
Of course, it’s always worth stopping by the Lost Dog for a bite, but while you’re there, take the time to see the world through Gordon’s and Hubbell’s eyes, for a little food for the soul, too.
abutler@durangoherald.com
If you go
The photography of Alexi Hubbell and the paintings of Britt Gordon are on display at the Lost Dog Bar & Lounge, 1150 Main Ave.
