Getting intuitive: Rio Grande Art Association's 'Encantada!' features over 200 paintings in oil, acrylic and mixed-media

When the Russian-born artist Tatulli first came to the U.S. 33 years ago, it was because she couldn’t feed her son in Moscow.

“Russia’s a complicated country, both politically and economically,” she said.

Tatulli (her legal name is Tatyana Komogorova; Tatulli is both her nickname and artist’s name) is now the 2024 chair of “Encantada!” an annual juried exhibition of contemporary art that runs from Saturday, Nov. 9, through Sunday, Dec. 1, at Expo New Mexico’s Hispanic Arts Gallery.

Getting intuitive: Rio Grande Art Association's 'Encantada!' features 230 paintings in oil, acrylic and mixed-media

The show features 230 paintings in oil, acrylic and mixed-media.

After retiring as a project manager and analyst for Bernalillo County, she immersed herself in her art, creating what she calls “intuitive paintings.”

She credits pioneering abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky and the modernist Marc Chagall as influences.

“The idea is that you start with a few lines, then you look at the positions,” she said. “You look at the alliance you painted and see shapes.”

Intuitive painting is about letting go of fear or expectations to allow a painting to evolve based on heart callings, visions and play, including the happy accidents and messes.

Artists such as Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock and Georgia O’Keeffe brought this movement into motion all across the nation. The abstract movement gave birth to other new art movements, these even more abstract than the last, known as pop art, abstract expressionism and modern art.

“It’s for your fantasy to figure it out,” Tutulli continued. “You start seeing some trees and maybe some people. Maybe it’s a story or a legend from history. You have to have a pretty good imagination. It’s very hard to let your unconscious fully free and dive into your imagination to try to figure it out.”

When Tatulli first came to Albuquerque, she attended graduate school at the University of New Mexico. She already possessed a master’s degree from Russia, but she needed the contacts.

“I thought I could find another life,” she said. “I was able to realize my dreams.”

“Encantada!” is the Rio Grande Art Association’s annual juried exhibition and sale of original paintings. The exhibition features both standard and small work paintings. The awards for standard (72-by-48 inches) work: $1,000 first place, $700 second place and $500 third place. Small works (10-by-9 inches) awards: $600 first place, $400 second place and $300 third place.

Artist Julia Lambright will give a workshop on “From Abstraction to Impressionism” from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, and Thursday, Nov. 7, at Expo New Mexico. Registration is required.

In this two-day workshop, Lambright delves into the world of mixed-media. Working wet and dry, merging abstract paint application with soft pastels, the primary focus will be on learning layering and embracing an expressive approach in art making. The workshop is designed to inspire and encourage a fresh approach to painting looser. Each participant will receive individual coaching and guidance to express their thoughts and feelings more freely. Working on multiple pieces, participants will learn to see the “Big Picture” and become less detail-oriented. After demonstrations and warm-ups, students will layer to embrace the immediacy of pastels, the tactile joy of placing a mark and the ability to let each piece evolve.