Anne Whitehurst’s current series is as subtle as an elephant stampede. The body of work brashly incorporates personally relevant symbolic images and loud complementary colors that result in planned visual cacophony. Somehow, each piece and the series pull together to create a cohesive body of work. The neon palette contradicts the decidedly dark imagery. Bas-relief inclusions in the pieces offer a primitive and ethnic flavor to the series.
Frequent use of skulls would lead one to believe that the work refers solely to Mexican “Day of the Dead” paintings, but the viewer should be reminded that although the artist did live in Mexico for more than five years, being raised in a mortuary has more to do with the macabre imagery than the influence of her years in Latin America.
Anne sold her first painting at 12. Commercially specializing in historic murals, she varies the content her personal work from formal agricultural pieces to cowboys to musicians and an ongoing series of non-representational art utilizing backward writing as its sole visual content.
The unifying element of this diverse choice of subject matter is her brilliant palette and purposeful usage of complementary contrast. Anne received her degree in Fine Arts from the University of Santa Clara and went on to post-graduate studies at the San Francisco Art Institute.