2 Under 25

“The Dalles Art Center is a place for young and emerging artists. We are proud that several now established artist exhibited early on in their careers at the Center. I look forward to the future when I will read about Max Panzer and Yazmin Villegas in the national art news media,” noted Sally Johnson, Executive Director.

While young in their careers, both Max Panzer and Yazmin Villegas have been developing their talent and exhibiting their work for years. Max and Yazmin have participated in The Gorge Artists Studio Tour (GAOS) with Yazmin still holding the record as the younger artist to participate in GOAS. Max gained recognition early in his career through social media, selling 50 of his works within the first 4 months of his professional debut. These digital-native artists are active in sharing their work with the world through websites and active social media accounts.

Yazmin is a multi-media artist. She creates jewelry, paintings, and ceramic pieces. In her paintings, Yazmin delves into series that allow her to explore her subjects. Yazmin discovers subjects found in the everyday world, from local cherries to anthropomorphized characters like Shopkins, and Squishmallows. Yazmin’s keen eye and creativity give life to these characters through fictionalized stories. A recent exploration of why the fox Squishmallow was denied tacos led to a progression of whimsical and humorous compositions all done in Yazmin’s signature bright color palette.

“I like telling stories through my paintings. I am interested in items that are overlooked by others as characters with stories. I hope people find humor in these stories but also see the beauty of the work,” noted Villegas.

For Max Panzer, art is a passion and constantly evolving through experimentation and experience. Panzer’s medium is a combination of digital painting and contemporary interpolation that amalgamates light vectors with chiaroscuro to instill his work with movement and life. Interpolation is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as the addition of something different in the middle of a text, piece of music or in mathematics as the addition of a number or item into the middle of a series, calculated based on the number of items before and after it. Both definitions are relevant in Max’s approach to his work.

Interpolation is central to the process he uses to create his finished works. His approach includes a sorting algorithm used to interpret the structure of existing color, shading and depth, which he then converts into a fantastical array of lines. The result is an intermingling of color, lines, and images, creating Max’s ever-elusive dreamscape.  His finished work is digitally rendered with each piece carefully and precisely inked with high-quality saturated archival inks.

“I've always had an obsession with optical illusions. I find something particularly enticing about creating something that makes you question what you see. There's a deep satisfaction in creating an lucid phantasmagoria of visual information that gives all the right tingly-feelings in the neurons upstairs,” added Panzer.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Yazmin Villegas for the last 10 years. I have known of Max’s work for several years, so I quickly stepped forward when asked to hang the show for these talented artists. I hope our Gorge artis community comes out to support these young artists – they deserve our time and attention,” said Yvonne Pepin-Wakefield.