SOUTHWEST PASTORAL TO OPEN AT ART EXCHANGE GALLERY Opening reception in the gallery, Saturday, March 7 from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. Paintings by landscape artist Rick Young will be featured in a one-man show, Southwest Pastoral, exhibited at Art Exchange Gallery in Santa Fe, March 1-31. The artist will be present at an opening reception in the gallery. Nineteen oil paintings on canvas capture the quiet beauty of the rural Southwest. A longtime Coloradoan, Young has been drawn to the canyons, mesas, hills and mountains of northern New Mexico. His colorful paintings focus not on pristine nature but on the interplay between the land and its peoples—Native American, Hispano, and Anglo. These works celebrate the simple lifestyle of those who struggle to eke a living from the land. Villages, hayfields, ranch buildings, and churches populate the landscapes in Young’s paintings. Adobe churches, testaments to the humble faith of generations of New Mexicans, anchor many of the scenes. Frequent travelers of New Mexico’s highways and back roads will recognize many of the locations spotlighted in this show: the Taos Pueblo, the Chama River, the Rio Grande and Taos gorges, the High Road between Taos and Santa Fe, and the Turquoise Trail. Other locations from Colorado and Utah may be less familiar but still distinctly Southwestern in spirit. Young’s credentials include a BFA in Art from Miami University (Ohio) and an MA in US History from the University of Colorado at Denver. Before joining Art Exchange Gallery in Santa Fe, his work was exhibited in galleries in Colorado Springs and Vail. His painterly pieces, striking for their dynamic color, have garnered awards at shows in Trinidad, CO and Castle Rock, CO. Young teaches art, history, and world religions at Daniel C. Oakes High School in Castle Rock.