Mariana Pereira Vieira - "Touching #1," "Touching #2," and "Touching #22"

Silver gelatin paper. 2020

Spring in the Rocky Mountains is a delightful season of growth and rebirth. Brown patches of dirt or entire mountain sides start to slowly show spurs of green. In March of 2020, while the world was coming to a halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic, nature was undeterred - it continued to bloom and blossom, encouraged by the warmer, longer days of Spring, unaffected by the human chaos surrounding it.


One of the first, lasting impacts of the pandemic was the fear of touching. Suddenly, the act of hugging a friend or shaking hands was an act of violence. Touching was loaded with fear of transmission of a deadly disease. I started making these prints to celebrate the human touch. These images record my touch on the surface of the paper, a gesture to symbolize the missed hugs of comfort, support, and love that we could not share with our family and friends. In my backyard, I discovered a world that refused to stop thriving, and used the seedlings of weeds, dandelions, tulips, and vegetables to form a bond with my touch.

The relationship between humans and nature is complicated and tragic. We are a species that continuously abuses our planet, destroys the resources that sustain life, but whose constructed world broke apart due to the smallest possible life form. Touching presents an intimate world of contemplation, where the human touch and nature exist in symbiosis, supporting and celebrating each other.

Working from home, I had more time to spend in the studio, and my art practice was a relief of the daily anxiety. Especially during shelter-in-place, I reconnected with the artist community and reached out for weekly critiques in groups.

Viral Influence: Collective Conscious Salon Installation
  1. Patricia Aaron - "Solitude"
  2. Sylvie Abecassis - "Quarenteenietown"
  3. Zoa Ace - "Spellbound" and "Mystical Matinee"
  4. Josh Aiman - "Quarantine Companions "
  5. Roy Anneberg - "Pandemonic Rupture"
  6. Alicia Bailey - "Stray Birds Five"
  7. Tina Bailey - "Baglafecht Weaver, Tanzania"
  8. Jane Banzhaf - "The Mask Maker"
  9. Christi Beckmann - "Patchwork Quarantine"
  10. Kaylee Bender - "The Man and His Book"
  11. Clarice Benz - "Skin and Sensory 1"
  12. Brendt Berger - "Corona at Large, a series (1, 7, 9, 15, 18)
  13. PJ Bergin - ""Let Your Mind Wander No. 3," "Let Your Mind Dance No. 4," and "Let Your Mind Wander No. 2"
  14. Jessica Bernstein-Schiano - "Corona Cut No. 26: Are We Flattening the Curve?" "Corona Cut No. 2: Renew" and "Corona Cut No. 204: The ice is bluer on the other side"
  15. Penney Bidwell - "Looming," "Inception," and "Hero"
  16. Stephanie Block - "Human. An experience."
  17. Jennie Boucneau - "How Many Days Have I Been Inside?"
  18. Karen Breunig - "Viral Painting," "Pandemic Painting," "Orbiting," and "Girls at the Pool"
  19. Jovan Brock - "Untitled " and "Black Stamp"
  20. Teresa Brooks - "Tightly Wound" and "Upward"
  21. Richard Buchanan - "Gateway"
  22. Elizabeth Buhr - "Blue Lion" and "Handshake"
  23. Lisa Calzavara - "C19 5-24-2020" and "C19 10-30-2020 "
  24. Judy Campbell - "Lakewood"
  25. John Carlson - "Stay Home #1," "Wash 'em," and "World Tour 2020"
  26. Sandra Jean Ceas - "Shield of Faith"
  27. Taiko Chandler - "Untitled #1"
  28. Tif Choate - "JoJoe"
  29. Anne Clark - "Smoke Corona"
  30. Joyce Coco - "Stay at Home" and "Safer At Home"
  31. Susan Cooper - "Finding My Sea" and "Get out of NYC"
  32. Brian D'Agosta - "Plague 1"
  33. Sandra Dalton - "Everything Comes Back in Style"
  34. Adrienne DeLoe - "Pandemic Self Portraits: Adrienne, Adrienne 2, Ava Truckey, Caige Coulter, and Carole Goodwin"
  35. Adrienne DeLoe - "Pandemic Self Portraits: Caroline Chinakwe, Caroline Lacoma, Ceceli Vanzyl, Chelsea America, and Diana Ammann"
  36. Adrienne DeLoe - "Pandemic Self Portraits: Divine Jinn, Duane Paul, Fabrizio Bagnoli, Fenix Moon, and Jasmine"
  37. Adrienne DeLoe - "Pandemic Self Portraits: Joe Smith, Kasturi Balkrishna, Keirsten Read, Laura Greenway, Lindsay"
  38. Adrienne DeLoe - "Pandemic Self Portraits: Mike Jacobs, Naa Adjeley, Regina Schmidt, Samuel Dunson, and Siyanda"
  39. Adrienne DeLoe - "Pandemic Self Portraits: Tameca L Coleman, Tracey Anderson, Vanessa Fero, Yann Le Crouhennec, and Yeter Beriş"
  40. Leah Dennison - "The Everything"
  41. Elizabeth Earhart - "Isolation"
  42. Patricia J Finley - "Cri de Coeur"
  43. David Fodel - "Supply Chain: Vertical Integration"
  44. Jan Fordyce - "Quarantine Blues"
  45. Kay Galvan - "Gaining Familiarity"
  46. Judy Gardner - "Glory Days," "Pomegranates," and "Soleil"
  47. Andrea Gordon - "Doing Better 2"
  48. Linda Graham - "Arrange/Rearrange 2020"
  49. Linda Graham - "Sharp Angles"
  50. Grace Gutierrez - "Adam (2)" and "It's Just Us"
  51. Mandy Hansen - "Doodle Blot 1," "Doodle Blot 5," "Doodle Blot 6," "Doodle Blot 8," "Doodle Blot 9"
  52. Jodie Herrera - "Honor Those"
  53. Austin Howlett - "Missing Pieces"
  54. Sara Howsam - "Pandemic/ Covid Spring"
  55. Ryan Hughes - "Take it off the map "
  56. Julie Jablonski - "Holding On," "8 PM," and "The Little Prince"
  57. Nolan Johnson - "Mania"
  58. Emma Johnstone - "Current Mood"
  59. Ashton Lacy Jones - "Forsaken"
  60. Mike Keene - "Blue Birds of Bear Creek Valley"
  61. Anthony Knight - "Quarantine Trio-Jack & Coke and cable T.V."
  62. Mickey LaFave - "Covid-19"
  63. Leona Lazar - "6'"
  64. Julie Leidel - "See Me"
  65. Gayla Lemke - "Tired of Winning" and "Landscape in the Time of COVID-19: No. 7"
  66. Becky Lenhart - "Isolation"
  67. Daniel Levinson - "Tangled In Time"
  68. Patricia Barry Levy - "SeedSaver#3"
  69. Bonny Lhotka - "Looking OUT"
  70. Amy Lorenz - "Lunar Lilies "
  71. Greg Matheny - "Stage 5 Isolation"
  72. Chuck McCoy - "Catch"
  73. Molly McCrosson - "Vortex to Heaven"
  74. El Meek - "Alex (They/Them)"
  75. Tom Megalis - "Torn Apart" and "Distancing "
  76. Stan Meyer - "Clothes Line Art Show"
  77. Keri Mills - "Shattering Ceilings"
  78. Ellen Moershel - "Environment"
  79. Michael Morris - "The Maddening Cloud"
  80. Grace Morris - "Bernd and Hilla Becher" and "Drained"
  81. Pat Morrow - "Together"
  82. Pat Morrow - "Climate Change"
  83. Pat Morrow - "Same But Different"
  84. Isabel Munson - "Stay Home"
  85. Joe Murray - "Portrait of a Pandemic"
  86. Gregory Nelson - "Heart of the Nation"
  87. Christine Nguyen - "Stars and Constellations 4- 2020" and "Stars and Constellations 3- 2020"
  88. Jonathan Nicklow - "Ribbet" and "The Enchantment"
  89. Lynette O'Kane - "B R E A T H E "
  90. Marty Odermann - "Cacophony of Covid"
  91. Cipriano Ortega - "Jizz Jazz "
  92. Tony Ortega - "Social Distancing and Sheltering in Place"
  93. Tony Ortega - "I Can't Breathe"
  94. Tony Ortega - "Susto"
  95. Christine Parker - "Color Proof" and "Canyon of Heroes"
  96. Adam Peery - "Can we go outside yet?" "Quarantined," and "Baking with Grandma"
  97. Erik Pendergraft - "A Walk in the Park"
  98. Mariana Pereira Vieira - "Touching #1," "Touching #2," and "Touching #22"
  99. Karen Poulson - "Fragmentation" and "Opposing Forces"
  100. Benjamin Powell - "Crisis"
  101. Connie Quigg - "Social Distancing on the Davidson Mesa" and "First Face Mask Walk on the Mesa - Recovery Art 14"
  102. Helen Ragheb - "Bananas (Stacked series #5)" and "Untitled (Stacked series #6)"
  103. Roger Rapp - "Crown"
  104. Louis Recchia - "How Now?" and "Bystander"
  105. Gary Reed - "TBD #2" and "TBD #3"
  106. Lydia Riegle - "No Limits, No Boundaries II"
  107. Lydia Riegle - "Silver Linings"
  108. Stacey Roberts - "In These Uncertain Times"
  109. Kim Roberts - "Metamorphosis (adjustment?)"
  110. Sara Rockinger - "Covid in the Garden of Good and Evil"
  111. Mike Roderique - "COVID-19 Self-Portrait in Denver while Walking my Dog"
  112. Pam Rogers - "Lockdown," "Hiding Under Rocks," and "May 2020: Amidst the Storm"
  113. Deb Rosenbaum - "Better Days to Come!" "Strung Out" and "Social Distance: Dressing for Spring"
  114. Claudia Roulier - "The Watcher"
  115. Susan Samol - "Living In The Time of Corona Virus"
  116. Brian Sartor - "All of My Days"
  117. Justin Schaffer - "Six Feet"
  118. Becky Enabnit Silver - "Covid Monster" and "Emerging"
  119. Sue Simon - "Inside Out -Happiness Inside-Uncertainty Outside" and "Inside Out -Bright Inside-Ominous Outside"
  120. Paul Sisson - "Untitled (March 13, 2020)" and " Untitled 16 (March 13, 2020)"
  121. Kate Sladen - "Facepalm"
  122. Katharine Smith-Warren - "Mended Shirt"
  123. Maddie Sturm - "Father Daughter"
  124. Hannah Sutton Stoll - "Good Company"
  125. Hannah Sutton Stoll - "The Strongest Shape"
  126. Hannah Sutton Stoll - "West on Fire: I"
  127. Virginia Unseld - "Navigations"
  128. Virginia Unseld - "Celestial Navigation"
  129. Clark Valentine - "Untitled (Continuous Line Composition 3)"
  130. Cory Van Zytveld - "Wedding Dress"
  131. Travis Vermilye - "Coronavirus 002"
  132. Rob Watt - "Sad Spring"
  133. Anduriel Widmark - "Slow Spread Red"
  134. DL Winn - "Darkness Visible"
  135. Loretta Young-Gautier - "Sleepwalking," "Room with at View," and "Night Sweats"