Blue Rain Gallery presents Robin Jones: “Nos Galan Gaeaf”

Blue Rain Gallery Santa Fe celebrates Halloween in all its permutations this year with a thought-provoking collection of new work by figurative painter Robin Jones on October 31, 2025. This new show is titled “Nos Galan Gaeaf,” which is the Welsh name for the night preceding November 1, the first day of winter in Wales. As with Halloween and Day of the Dead celebrations around the world, in Wales it’s a time when it is believed that the veil between life and death is at its thinnest and spirits roam freely about the land.

Well-known for her evocative musings on the natural world, environmental issues, and the interconnectedness of all living things, Jones takes us on a magical journey through a spirit-filled world via portraits of pre-adolescent and teenage girls that reveal some delightfully contrasting concepts: youth as both innocent and wise, animism/spirituality versus religion, timelessness amid the linear progression of days, years, centuries. Using an autumnal palette that reflects both the season and the Celtic coloring of her young subjects, Jones strikes a contemplative tone as she shows us a variety of scenes in Wales, Scotland, and Celtic France (Brittany), each of them portraying young girls sharing space with animals, elements of nature, and human-built structures. 

“The inspiration behind this body of work began with a deep dive into my own ancestry, including the spiritual and cultural aspects of the Celtic lands of Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Brittany,” Jones says. “The animistic aspect of Celtic pagan spirituality, where all things have spirit, is something that has spoken deeply to me and which I practice. In these paintings I’ve included ideas/energy/inspiration taken from animism, as well as structural elements from the specific Celtic lands, landscapes, and non-human beings cohabitating with humans.” 

Artist Reception: Friday, October 31st from 5 – 7pm

The show will run from October 31 to November 11, 2025