The work of Nancy Thayer is included in numerous museum collections including the Detroit Institute of Arts, Muzeum Papiernictwa, Duszniki Zdroj, Poland, Foundation MINT ALAPITVANY, Budapest, Hungary, and in over 100 private and corporate collections throughout Europe and the U.S. Her work has been shown extensively throughout the U.S and in Italy, Germany, Hungary, Poland, The Netherlands and Kor
ea, She is on the faculty of the University of Michigan, School of Art & Design, Ann Arbor. A long tradition in Chinese art considers sacred mountains to be the embodiment of a philosophy advocating simplicity, frugality and the joys of living close to the soil. They are considered the most revered object of representation, a means through which the artist immerses herself in nature and divine wisdom. The paintings in this series express a fundamental spiritual dimension of mountains I’ve recently come to know. They were created in my studios in New Mexico, Colorado and Detroit beginning in 2011. They are not meant to be site specific or photographic, and see beyond a purely external aspect of phenomena to an experience of a finer, deeper nature. There is a unique spiritual identity or presence of place in each of the many pueblos, reservations, monuments, towns and villages I’ve visited. The contrast between these sacred sites and the Detroit communities where I have lived and worked for decades has given me a great appreciation for the land and people who occupy both. I paint not what I see but the spirit and feelings the mountains arouse in me. It is my hope that my paintings will elicit a deep sense of freedom and an awareness of the spiritual nature of mountains that have inspired me to paint them.
