Las Vegas Weekly

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Mary Warner has rendered the intimate life of botany for years. Whether exploring floral spatial depth in black-velvet paintings that take on a hologram or sea-life quality or capturing the unique personalities of mums with superb technical skill and potent intensity, she brings a unique depth to the traditional subject of flowers.

Her “I paint what I want to see” approach combines with an appreciation for the freedom of studies, rather than full paintings, along with her familiarity with botany and its vocabulary (a “family thing” passed down by her mother).

Continuing with flowers as her subject matter, Warner has created the new work “Ring,” which serves as the centerpiece of a show that opens March 5 at Springs Preserve and places the UNLV associate professor of painting (and graduate program coordinator), alongside former students now considered peers.

Kaleidoscope: Visual Inspiration is designed to explore the mutual inspiration in student/teacher relationships and the curating Warner selected a roster of artists she says demonstrates the conceptual range of painting and drawing. It’s a strong show featuring diverse materials used innovatively and eloquently. The list includes familiar artists, most of whom live and show in Las Vegas: Chad Brown, Sean Russell, Danielle Kelly, Wendy Kveck, Michael Ogilvie, Daniel Samaniego, Erin Stellmon and Aaron Sheppard.

Kaleidoscope also serves as a great way to celebrate Warner’s recent Governor’s Arts Award for excellence in arts. A Las Vegas resident since 1989, she is a founding member of the 21-year-old Contemporary Arts Center, and has taught scores of artists at UNLV in her years there.