Thirty artists from three countries, as well as a broad range of digital techniques and processes, are represented in "Silicon Sands," the first juried digital art exhibit at the Las Cruces Fine Art Museum. The exhibit opens Friday, Nov. 4, in the Main Gallery, with opening reception from 5-7 p.m. held in conjunction with an Art Walk at the Downtown Mall.
Visitors will see applications of digital processes to painting, drawing, photography and multimedia artworks, with subject matter running the gamut from representational to abstract. A total of 52 artworks make up the exhibit. The show is supported in part by Photo Techniques magazine, and a selection of works from the exhibit will appear as a portfolio in the Jan-Feb. 2006 issue.
The exhibit is curated by Paul Schranz, professor of art emeritus, Photography and Digital Imaging at Governors State University in Illinois. About the exhibit, he says, "Digital imaging, whether free-drawn or photographically based, is no more than the latest means of creating and exercising full artistic expression. It contains perception and concept, intuition and reason, content, meaning and skill. I believe the exhibit shows the breadth of approaches and the intelligence of the people using digital media."
Schranz will give a free talk about the exhibit on Friday, Nov. 18, at 1 p.m.
The Director's Gallery of the museum will feature recent drawings by Lauren Winnen, Nov. 2-29. The intersection of technology with humanity, of the machine with the body, is Winnen's subject. Winnen, who earned a MFA in sculpture at NMSU in May, also holds degrees from the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the Columbus College of Art in Ohio. Her work has been exhibited in New Mexico and across the Midwest.
Describing her work, Winnen says, "My recent drawings are graphite on paper. I have primarily been a sculptor for some years, so I am truly interested in three-dimensional space. This is evidenced in the rendering of objects and space. I am drawn to machines, such as artificial hearts, sewing machines and airplane engines, to name a few. I collect some of these older machines and use these as references for my drawings. Some of my drawings are truly realistic, depicting an artificial heart, a sailboat on the water, or a sewing machine.
"In my work, I have had an ongoing interest in the human body for many years and have become interested in our relationship with machines, such as life-sustaining machines in the hospital, factories, prisons, vehicles, plumbing, refrigeration, satellites and so on. In other drawings, I am exploring a more surrealistic approach to the world, combining an anatomical heart with a jet engine, for example."
The Museum is located at 490 N. Water St. in the Downtown Mall and is open Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, call 541-2137.
Jardin de los Niños, a non-profit organization providing childcare for children of homeless and near-homeless families in southern New Mexico, has announced the artists chosen for this year's holiday cards: Carolene Herbel, "Chile Fields"; Francisco Romero, "La Piñata"; Olivia Medina, "Our Lady of Refuge"; Tom Gerend, "Old Mesilla"; Hope Newhouse, "St. Francis Cathedral, Santa Fe"; Frank Parrish, "Mule Deer in Winter"; Angel, an eight-year-old member of Jardin's After School Club, "Christmas Tree"; Rosemary McLoughlin, whose art, "Christmas Memories," borders paper for your family's computer-generated holiday letter.
As in other years, eight of the cards are back by popular demand. These and the new cards can be seen on Jardin's Web site, www.jardinlc.org. Brochures with order forms may be downloaded from the site or obtained by calling 522-2111. Walk-in purchases may be made at either Jardin at 999 W. Amador in the Community of Hope or at Jardin's Boutique, La Tienda de Jardin at 1100 S. Solano in Las Cruces. For information, call 522-2111.
November 2005
