Gallery With A Cause • Located in the New Mexico Cancer Center • Benefitting the NMCC Foundation
Please call gallery director Regina Held to arrange a private gallery tour, make a purchase, or ask any questions.
BIOGRAPHY
Deborah Openden was born in New York City, grew up in New Jersey, and now gratefully resides in New Mexico after living in Massachusetts, Israel, Virginia, and California. A self-taught artist, she has been drawing since she could hold a pencil.
Although she has made art throughout her life, Deborah spent much of her adult career working for nonprofit, community-based organizations. She also served as a consultant and trainer in New Mexico’s cancer community, giving her a meaningful connection to the New Mexico Cancer Center and this exhibition.
Deborah works in drawing, painting, collage, mixed media, and decoupage. Her projects have ranged from puppets made in another artist’s style to two large restaurant murals in Norfolk, Virginia: a mystical scene with Botticelli-style angels and a full wall painted as Pompeian ruins. Guided by humor, bold color, contrast, and composition, she creates art that engages viewers and brings a smile. Her work has been shown and sold in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Los Angeles, and New Mexico, including at the New Mexico Cancer Center, FUSION, the New Mexico Art League, and OffCenter Community Arts Project.
ARTIST STATEMENT
From a very young age, drawing offered me a welcome escape from the tedium of everyday life. Beyond enjoying the finished work, the mechanics of drawing helped me stay focused in school and later at work. A pencil remains my favorite tool.
My inspiration comes from comic books, comic strips, caricatures, illustrations, people, nature, and animals. When I make art, I can become completely absorbed; time takes on a different quality, and it can be difficult to return to more mundane responsibilities.
Color, contrast, and composition inform my art and many parts of my life, from home décor and garden design to clothing. I enjoy bold colors and contrasts, and through collage I playfully bring together images and messages that others might not think to combine. My work includes drawing, painting, collage, and decoupage.