Isla de Lechuga

Entering into a one-person art exhibition is like walking into an artist’s world. In the case of the new show, Isla de Lechuga, at Granary Arts in Ephraim, Utah, visitors walk into a space filled with works that are based on a fictional island created by Rachel Stallings Thomander. The artist writes to us about the exhibition, “I’m excited as I was able to explore a lot of different mediums in new and different ways. I’m also excited I addressed themes that are important to me such as motherhood, Latinx and biracial identity, spirituality and childhood.” The gallery describes Isla de Lechuga in this way: “For the last three and a half years, coinciding with the birth of her first son, she has been in communication with the island which she envisions is located off the coast of Colombia. Initially, the island was a way to talk about being bi-racial–a place where people speak both Spanish and English, and experience two cultures at once. Intentionally not utopian, the island acts as a prompt to engage the imagination and explore possibilities.” The works themselves are colorful, playful, inventive, full of symbols and objects. They look like beautiful flannel board stories—if they were designed by modern art masters Elizabeth Murray and Jean Arp, but with the impact of an emerging artist exploring a complex identity. (Exhibition runs through August 12 at Granary Arts)