Continental Who's Who

EUGENE A. MAYFIELD

Nietzsche said, “The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” Such is the inspiration of Denver artist, Eugene A.Mayfield, who having been adopted at age two and brought into the loving and large family of Arthur W. and Frances A. Mayfield, has felt immense life-long gratitude and his art continues their legacy of giving back to the community. Inspired from early toddler days by his adoptive mother, Frances Mayfield, a love of color and shape began. She provided all the positive reinforcement to her youngest, nurturing the germinating talent as best she could.

Beginning at age nine with crafting figures from rock and glue, today Mayfield employs palette handle, brushes, sticks, thumbnail, even socks to obtain the texture in his abstracts and landscapes. “I become the paint; the Man Above guides my hand and everything.” Untutored with no formal training and evoking the Proto-surrealist, naïve art of Rousseau much admired by Picasso and Kandinsky for its sincerity and directness, Mayfield draws from his unaffected core images of mystery with the paradox of commonplace and the exotic. He leaves it for others to interpret; he paints as his core dictates. His dreams inspire the magic realism that informs his unconventional forms. His “shadow people” speak to an existence in his soul of centuries-old spirits, perhaps summoning African nkisi, ancient power figures that believed everything had a life force. Startled awake at wee a.m. hours, he immediately gets up and sets the images on paper. “It’s a gift,” he states, “to not get up and honor it, would be to forfeit it – gone forever.” Within the broad range of imagery that Mayfield presents, he basically has two worldviews: peace and harmony; and imminent fragility and precariousness.

 Whether pastoral, landscape, or urban, the primitifs are a play of these world views; showing lush blossom-laden trees with other-worldly stripped-bare limbed trees; bright flowers and sparkling waters with black birds circling; a world of nature, but out of balance and perspective; figures perched on precipices; and full spiritual circles, zones of contemplation. Mayfield’s abstracts are as intriguing as any Clyfford Still – the powerful stroke, the swath of color – and embedded are his floating figures caught and held captive, or they are guardians watching over human folly – depending on the worldview you choose. The over 200 paintings, to date, are very personal and Mayfield honors the gift he was given to find a path out of that secret place within in order to touch others. Edward Hopper said, “Great art is the outward expression of an inner life in the artist, and this inner life will result in his personal vision of the world.” Welcome to Eugene Mayfield’s. 2017 [Jude DeLorca]

THE ARTHUR AND FRANCES MAYFIELD FOUNDATION

The Arthur and Frances Mayfield Foundation was formed formally in the state of Colorado January of 2017 and the application for non-profit status of Section 501(c)(3) is awaiting approval and imminent, however, the concept has long been in the hearts of founders Eugene A. Mayfield, artist, and Willis T. “Terry” Minggia, Sr., entertainment and artist management professional.

The mission of the Foundation is to provide educational resources, counsel on vocational options and an understanding for the importance of higher education while providing scholarships for the benefit of under-privileged inner-city greater Denver youth. Terry Minggia is President of the Foundation, he is shepherding the formation and business/finance end. Eugene Mayfield is putting all his original art in trust with the Foundation, from those over 200 pieces, fine-art quality prints on canvas and metal, artist signed, are being offered for sale for the sole benefit of the non-profit Foundation.

Other items are also available. For full details, please visit mmartscoinsandstamps.com/t/fine-art Genesis: Denver residents the late Arthur W. and Frances A. Mayfield dedicated their lives in hard work and devotion to a family of 17 children and their children. Frances Mayfield was working as a cook for St. Joseph’s Hospital providing meals for the nuns; the hospital also ran an orphanage. Her personal philanthropy was providing food for those hungry and homeless.

Her heart was taken by the little two- year-old Eugene, adopted him and provided the love and care that would nurture the toddler to youth to full manhood. Not much will be found in archives of these two remarkable modest people but much is embedded in many hearts and a legacy of giving back to the community and others to enrich all. Members of the Annunciation Catholic Church, Arthur was an usher and member of the Knights of Columbus. The Mayfields passed on values to their children and Eugene carries much gratitude for lessons learned from Frances’s soul and at the knee of Arthur.

He recalls around the age of nine, Arthur sitting in the backyard with him pointing out the miracle of a tree and what it represents. Arthur explained the roots are deep to hold up the trunk, so that it can supply the limbs with the nourishment to survive – he used this metaphor to teach Eugene that the man is to be the provider and responsible for his family. Through this lesson, and Frances’s role model, Eugene has spent his working life providing and feeding any child who is hungry and now with the Foundation, he will be able to feed their minds as well and with his art, their souls. Eugene Mayfield while being loved by his parents, the feeling of “other” is always present and he postulates this may be at the core of his dreams and ultimately his art, reaching for a rooted connection.

If one looks closely at his paintings, trees in all manifestations are represented. He states, “I am bringing my past into my future.” Thus, with business and entertainment professional, and family member, Terry Minggia, these two grassroots philanthropists have pooled their resources to make a sustaining, powerful legacy for Arthur and Frances, and for themselves. Eugene states he is feeling his mortality and one will find that also in his work. 2017 [Jude DeLorca]