Associate Professor of Art Francisco Souto completed a prestigious Visiting Artist Residence at the world renowned Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colo., Oct. 1-15.
“It was an unbelievable experience,” Souto said. “That kind of focused time for two weeks really got me to think about why the work has happened that way and all these different kinds of realizations. To have the luxury of time to think about those things, that intensity, it was exciting.”
Anderson Ranch’s Visiting Artist Program is an invitation-only program that provides space and time for artists to create artwork in their studios. The program began in 1980 and some of the prominent artists who have worked over the years include James Surls, Laurie Anderson, Ed Ruscha, Julie Mehretu, and speakers like Bill Viola and Marina Abramovic.
“It’s really prestigious. They invite you and offer you an apartment and a full studio with an assistant, if you want one,” Souto said. “You come, do your work for an uninterrupted period of time and go back home. It’s pretty exciting.”
Two drawings of the same series that he completed at Anderson Ranch will be exhibited at the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney in December. He is also working toward an exhibition at Kiechel Fine Art in Lincoln in late March at their new gallery opening at 1208 O St. He is hoping to complete 20-25 drawings in total.
“I’m very excited about this new series of drawings,” Souto said.
Souto worked on a new set of drawings that he is working on that began with a drive down Highway 77 South to Wichita last April for his residency at Wichita State University as the C.A. Seward Memorial Guest Printmaker, when he really took notice of the landscape of the Great Plains.
“Halfway through the drive, I thought, ‘If I were in a different country, I would be dreaming about this kind of landscape,’” Souto said. “How come that’s not happening?”
He began to realize that the geography of the Great Plains has been affecting his work all along, but he wasn’t aware of it until that drive to Wichita.
“That big sky I did in Venice is not a Venice Sky. It’s a Nebraska sky,” Souto said. “I’ve been here for nine years. All of a sudden I realized the landscape and the geography is really creeping in. I was subconsciously avoiding it because it seemed like the easy way out, but now avoiding it would not be honest. I have to embrace it. The exciting part is what will happen now that it’s been embraced. I’m excited to see what’s next.”
He completed six drawings at Anderson Ranch, working 12-13 hours per day to the point of having pain in his shoulder.
His process for the drawing involves drawing on paper, which he laminates onto a wood panel. It’s covered with a heavy varnish. Then he sands it off with steel wool and adds more drawing. Then he puts another layer of varnish on it and adds more drawing.
“The final result almost looks like the surface of a silver gelatin print. It’s really glossy and really saturated,” Souto said. “When I started layering, I got a different kind of depth—it’s a physical depth. We’re talking 1/16 of an inch maximum, but it’s a beautiful layering that’s happening. You can see the prairie, but more than anything, I’m giving the sentiment of being in the prairie,” Souto said.
He realized he was able to realize that he could enjoy the prairie because he has been everywhere in the world.
“I’ve been from China to Egypt, to many different countries," Souto said. “When you have tasted many good foods, you know what a good food tastes like. To me, it’s like a rite of passage. I went through the world to understand that this is a beautiful landscape to see. That’s such a revelation to me.”