New Works by Bryce Pettit and Matthew Sievers
April 25 – May 9, 2025 | Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe
Blue Rain Gallery is proud to present Nature & Emotion: Sculpting the Elements, Painting the Light, a compelling dual exhibition featuring new works by sculptor Bryce Pettit and painter Matthew Sievers. Though their mediums differ—bronze for Pettit and oil paint for Sievers—both artists are deeply committed to expressing the vitality of the natural world and the powerful emotions it evokes.
This show is a celebration of contrast and harmony: the permanence of bronze alongside the immediacy of paint; the solidity of form alongside the fluidity of light. Yet both bodies of work point toward a shared sensitivity—a desire to distill raw experience into shape, color, and texture.
Bryce Pettit: Sculpting the Essence of the Wild
For over two decades, Bryce Pettit has sculpted with an eye for balance, gesture, and archetype. Working primarily in bronze, Pettit takes inspiration from the wildlife and rugged terrain of the American West. His subjects—ravens, bears, foxes, deer—are portrayed not merely as animals, but as symbols. Each sculpture invites us to consider what it means to move through the world with intention, grace, and instinct.
Pettit’s artistic process begins with observation and deep respect. After sketching or sculpting maquettes, he carefully refines each piece before casting it in bronze. The result is work that feels both grounded and transcendent.
“Sculpture is about more than anatomy,” Pettit explains. “It’s about emotion. It’s about essence.”
His newest pieces emphasize the relationship between movement and stillness. Some works explore fluid motion—an eagle mid-flight, a set of mice exploring a cheese wheel—while others find their power in quiet contemplation. In every case, his refined surfaces and minimalist forms evoke a sense of timelessness and connection.
Matthew Sievers: Painting the Light Between Worlds
Painter Matthew Sievers brings a different, yet complementary energy to this exhibition. Working in oils with palette knives and brushes, Sievers channels emotion into every stroke. His paintings are rich with contrast—vivid skies above rugged mountains, storm-lit clouds over solitary trees—each scene imbued with a sense of drama and wonder.
Raised in an artistic family and classically trained, Sievers has developed a highly expressive visual language that merges realism with abstraction. His work is known for its dynamic light and palpable textures, often achieved through bold impasto techniques.
“I’m not just painting what I see,” Sievers says. “I’m painting how it feels.”
In his new body of work, Sievers explores themes of solitude, transformation, and perseverance. Using the natural landscape as metaphor, he examines how the external world mirrors our internal states. His skies are emotional landscapes, his trees and peaks silent witnesses to the human experience.
What emerges is a deeply personal take on the American landscape—one that avoids romanticization and instead embraces honesty, complexity, and light as a healing force.
Two Artists, One Conversation
Together, Pettit and Sievers offer viewers a dialogue between form and feeling, nature and narrative. While one works in metal and the other in oil, both artists approach their practice with reverence—for the land, for the creatures that inhabit it, and for the emotions that rise within us as we encounter the wild.
This exhibition invites viewers to reflect not only on the beauty of the natural world, but on the emotional terrain it opens within us. How do we see ourselves in a raven’s flight? In the bend of a tree? In the curve of a mountain trail lit by evening sun?
Nature & Emotion: Sculpting the Elements, Painting the Light is a powerful reminder that art can bridge the material and the mystical, the real and the remembered.
We invite you to experience this thoughtful and moving exhibition at Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe, on view from April 25 through May 9, 2025. All works are available to preview online and in person.
Featured on the Blue Rain Gallery Podcast
To accompany the show, Blue Rain Gallery has released a new podcast episode featuring in-depth conversations with both Matthew Sievers and Bryce Pettit. Hosted by gallery founder Leroy Garcia, the episode offers an intimate look into the creative journeys of both artists, their shared love of nature, and how their newest works came to life. Whether you’re a longtime collector or new to their art, this episode provides thoughtful context for the exhibition and a deeper appreciation of their work. Click here to watch the full episode
