Arts Scene

SILVER CITY

• At the Western New Mexico University McCray Gallery the Milner Women in the Arts exhibit features the work of Allie Wilkinson who works with liquid ink and water. The exhibit opens on at 6:30 p.m., Sept. 9 with a lecture at Parotti Hall and reception at the gallery at 7:30 p.m. Info: 575-538-6273.

• Light Art Space  has two exhibitions starting in September. “Visions of Nature: Contemporary Views in Alternative Photographic Techniques” reflects the isolation and uncertainty of the times. The work of 46 artists from across the world are on display. Running through Oct. 2. “Two Artists: Two Views,” offers the photographic works by Diana Bloomfield and Karen Hymer. North Carolina artist, Bloomfield, and Silver City Artist, Hymer present recent work utilizing various photographic processes including gum dichromate, platinum, lumen and phytograms. The gallery, at 209 W. Broadway in Silver City is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday to Saturday and by appointment. Info: www.lightartspace.com.
• The Grant County Art Guild, located at 316 N Bullard Street, Silver City, features three artists in September: glass artist Dawn Grey, painter Thia Utz and clay artist Wendy Shaul. Each featured artist has a display in one of the large gallery windows, and an additional display in the gallery. GCAG gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Monday, and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday. Info: www.gcag.org.
• The Grant County Art Guild Annex, is at 106 E Market St, Silver City, directly behind the GCAG Gallery on Bullard, and just across the footbridge from the Visitor Center parking lot on Hudson. Sept. 4-19 the Annex features the Creatures of the Gila Art Show in conjunction with the Gila River Festival. For more information, or to ask about renting the Annex, email annex@gcag.org or see website at gcag.org/annex. 
• 1O3 Kelly West, at the heart of downtown Silver City, is a transformational arts space where guests can expect the unexpected: custom etched-glass memorials, drawings, paintings, prints, local-history documentaries, drawing boot-camps, art-critiques and so much more.  1O3 Kelly West is open 11a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and anytime by prior arrangement. Info: 575-956-6940.

CLOUDCROFT

• The Cloudcroft Art Society’s annual Labor Day show and sale features art by the society's local artists as framed and matted paintings in many art mediums, photography and digital photo art, greeting cards, jewelry, pottery, glass art, fiber dolls, wood and gourd carvings and more. The artists will be on hand for a meet and greet opportunity. Times and dates are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday to Sunday, Sept. 3-5. It’s at the east end of Burro Street where it intersects with Swallow Place in the old Red Brick School House that also houses the Nivison Library. Info: sznana@totacc.com.

MAGDALENA

• Three artists have been invited to each make four 11” X 11” drawings based on a string of words, Straw Camel Eye – not a theme, or even a prompt, more of a tumble. Sarah Fox (San Antonio, Texas), Jack Massing (Houston, Texas) and James Surls (Carbondale, Colorado) have the results of this tumble on display at Kind of a Small Array Gallery, 106 N. Main, Magdalena. An opening reception is 6-8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, and the exhibit runs through Saturday, Oct. 3. Info: 210-473-9062.

LAS CRUCES

• The Tombaugh Gallery presents the art work of Dennis Lujan, beginning with an opening reception on Sunday, Sept.12, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Lujan is the first artist exhibiting at the gallery in person since the beginning of the pandemic. The exhibit will feature abstract paintings based on the floaters he has in his eyes. This is a multi-media experiment with an interpersonal context, showing how the floaters can be transformed into brightly colored fantasy landscapes and interstellar worlds that are yet to be discovered. The exhibit includes Electric Engines, using found objects. These often have a unique name describing what they are and what they represent. Each one contains circuit boards and copper, as the energy for the sculpture. The exhibit continues through Oct. 8. The Tombaugh Gallery is at 2000 S. Solano and is part of the Unitarian Universalist Church. Masks are required. The gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. These times might change due to Covid-19.

• Agave Artist Gallery, 2250 Calle De San Albino in Mesilla, features Paul Maxwell’s artwork during September as artist of the month. While Maxwell has been painting most of his life, he became a full-time artist in 2012. He traveled extensively in Europe and parts of Asia, studying for several months at the Academe de Arte in Florence, Italy. Also at Agave, new member Jean Wilkey joins in. Wilkey holds a master’s degree in painting and teaches painting classes. The worlds she pants blure the lines between still life and landscape. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Sunday. To register for a Paint-Along, call 575-339-9870. Info: agaveartists@gmail.com.

• The Artists of Picacho Hills display their artwork in the Doña Ana Arts Council main gallery during September 2021. The group was founded in 2008 by artists living in the Picacho Hills Community with a shared interest in promoting the arts. Its mission is to provide members support and networking opportunities in the local community. The artisans in the group work in many different mediums to include painting, sculpture, jewelry, photography, woodworking, textile, quilting and multimedia. The group conducts Art in the Garden, an annual event, every May showcasing artwork and landscaping in the western corner of Las Cruces. The organization also puts together a fall show titled Holly Day House that raises money for charity. Among their members exhibiting work in September are some well-known regional artists as well as several newcomers. The Doña Ana Arts & Cultural Center is at 250 W. Amador St. in Las Cruces and is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays, and from noon-5 p.m. Saturdays. Info: www.daarts.org or 575-523-6403.
• The Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery, 2470-A Calle de Guadalupe, across from the historic Fountain Theatre features two local artists for the month of September: Yvonne Postelle and Roberta Leavell Widner. Postelle retired from the business world and revisited her passion for the love of oil painting. Widmer is an oil painter who prefers to express her talent in subject matters from abroad, mainly France and Italy, where she has taken extended workshops, rendering her art in the Old Master’s style. First American Bank in Mesilla, is well represented by gallery members who rotate the galleries artists’ work monthly. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with limited access. Info: 575-522-2933, www.mesillavalleyfinearts.com.

• The Las Cruces Museum of Art, 491 N. Main St., celebrates “From The Ground Up XXX,” a biannual juried exhibition co-hosted by the Potters’ Guild of Las Cruces which features a variety of ceramic and pottery works created by regional artists. The exhibit is on display through Saturday, Oct. 9. The juror this year is Joshua R. Clark, Assistant Professor of Ceramics at New Mexico State University, who has exhibited across the United States and internationally. This year’s exhibit features 56 works art. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Info: www.las-cruces.org/museums.