By Elva K. Österreich
OPPORTUNITY
Call for Veterans & Military Connected Artists: In Alamogordo, Otero Arts will hold its “Second Annual Otero Veteran Arts Showcase” (OVAS) in June at the Otero Artspace, 1118 Indiana Ave., Alamogordo. OVAS will feature a month-long art exhibition, performances and writing workshops all featuring Veterans and Military connected artists. Deadline for entering is May 1. To apply: contact Lori Arella, drloria@gmail.com or call 845-797-3642. Info: Oteroarts.org.
SILVER CITY
- For those visiting Silver City Feb. 10 for Chocolate Fantasia and Silver City’s Love Local Day, the Grant County Art Guild Gallery has a Chocolatier and multiple drawings for free art. The art prizes will be on display in the gallery the week leading up to Feb. 10. Winners will be notified on Sunday, Feb. 11. The first one to claim their prize gets first choice, and so on. No purchase needed, and you need not be present to win, but signup is on Feb. 10 only. The gallery carries the work of 35 local artists working in a wide range of mediums and styles, with an equally wide range of prices. The Grant County Art Guild Gallery is located at 316 N Bullard, Silver City. The hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m., seven days a week, with additional hours for special events. Info: gcag.org.
- Through Feb. 15 Francis McCray Gallery and the Edwina and Charles Milner Women in the Arts Series presents the exhibition “Allison Hudson—Safe Passage,” an exploration of metamorphosis. Debuting her first solo exhibition at Francis McCray Gallery, Allison Hudson combines unfired clay, twine, fabric, resin, dye and wax into something new and unrecognizable. Francis McCray Gallery of Contemporary Art Western New Mexico University is at 1000 W. College Avenue Silver City. Info: 575-538-6517.
- Light Art Space, 209 W. Broadway in Silver City, presents LAS TEN, featuring recent artwork by the 10 local artists represented by Light Art Space. A variety of media are on display including painting, drawing, photography, jewelry, fiber, assemblage, sculpture, and wood furniture. Work is by Joel Armstrong, Kathleen Koopman, Joe Huebner, Karen Hymer, Rhonda Munzinger, Art Peterson, Susan H. Porter, Eric Renner, Nancy Spencer and Juan Velasco. The show will be up through Feb. 24. The gallery is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and by appointment. Info: lightartspace.com.
ALAMOGORDO
- Otero Arts features Rochelle Williams work with “A Poet’s Eye: Accidental Beauties,” photographs at the Artspace located at 1118 Indiana Ave. in Alamogordo. Photographer, poet and fiction writer Williams shares a retrospective of her work in film and digital photography, with text and poems accompanying many of the images. The exhibition opens with a reception from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, the Otero Artspace. The exhibit is open 1-4 p.m., Thursday through Sunday. Info: oteroarts.org.
DEMING
- “Calling All Dogs” is the title of the February 2024, exhibit at the Deming Art Center. Images, in many different mediums, of our furry, man’s best friend, pets will be on display. Also during the month of February, the center is collecting donations to Deming Animal Guardians. There will be a time to meet the artists 1-3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 4. The exhibit is on display through Feb. 28. The Deming Art Center is at 100 S. Gold St., Deming. The gallery hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday. Info: 575-546-3663 and at www.demingarts.org.
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES
- RioBravoFineArt, 110 North Broadway in Truth or Consequences, presents a combined artists show by two New Mexican artists, Nolan Winkler and Raul Dorn, opening 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10. The show runs through April 21. Winkler, whose studio is in the former mining town of Hillsboro, has a distinctive style with an energetic use of color, graphic elements in abstract patterns, and, sometimes, a hint of a representational element. For this joint show, Winkler has chosen the title of The Dance Begins for her pieces. Dorn’s experiences in the art world include performance art, song writing, musical performance, media programming, and the visual arts, both teaching and creating. He has recently worked with the Seattle band Thorne and is currently the vocalist of the electronica duo Sister Black Lagoon. This February show for combined artists is an opportunity to compare the styles of two different artists while gaining an enhanced understanding of the distinctive characteristics of each one. Rio Bravo Fine Arts Gallery is at 110 N. Broadway in Truth or Consequences. Info: www.riobravofineartgallery.com/
MAGDALENA
- Houston artist Jack Massing, known worldwide as one of The Art Guys, is featured this at kind of a small array, 106 N. Main in Magdalena. This is his first solo project in New Mexico. The show continues through Feb. 24. Massing employs found materials, humor, linguistic puns and a tendency to follow through on fugitive ideas that occur to him serendipitously while making his way through his days. “Compression” features video, assemblage, artist books, and a capillary beverage cup patented in 2016 to aid astronauts drinking liquids in zero gravity environments. Two recently published books, Massing’s “Thanks A Million”and a collaboration with William Wegman, “Two Clever by Half,” are available for purchase and signing by the artist at the opening. Info: kindofasmallarray.com.
LAS CRUCES
- “TRIBUTE: A Master Study,” is a pop-up art exhibit at the Lucky Needle Tattoo and Merch Shop at 128 S. Main St., in Las Cruces. The exhibit is featured during the Fine Arts Flea Market downtown at Plaza de Las Cruces starting at 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 2. "Tribute" is a collection of oil paintings, some being over 35 years old. Featured Artist, Manuel Venegas is a Las Cruces artist whose admiration for Frank Frazetta is evident in his paintings and whose cultural perspective as a proud Hispanic artist adds an extra layer of richness to the fantasy genre. Info: luckyneedletattoo.com.
- New Mexico Watercolor Society artists' For the Love of Art exhibit is featured at the Frame & Art Center, 1100 S. Main St. In Las Cruces. There Is an artists' reception from 4-6 p.m. with light refreshments. Regular gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Info: nmwatercolorsociety.org.
- The Tombaugh Gallery presents "Between Heaven and Earth," an exhibit of pencil and mixed media drawings by Karl Kohl and mixed media painted collages by Roy van der Aa. Kohl creates pencil drawings of imaginary mythological figures which are cropped tightly to the faces containing no clues as to where they are from or what environment they inhabit. Van der Aa’s painted collages are imaginary landscapes which are saturated in color. They contain no figures but create a dreamlike atmospheric location. The artists hope in showing their individual approaches together, a more complete story is created through the eyes of the viewer that speaks to our common humanity. The exhibit opens with a reception11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 4 and runs through Feb. 25. The gallery, located in the Unitarian Universalist Church in Las Cruces, is open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 11:30a.m.-2 p.m., Sunday. Info: 575-522-7281
- The Las Cruces Museums opens two new exhibitions that investigate how artists relate to the natural environment. “Connection : : Conjunto” opens at the Branigan Cultural Center and features artwork from The Border Artists in which they consider the connection between artists, the natural environment, and the community in which they live. At the Museum of Art, “The Desert Was Red and Red the Dust Was Raised” uses abstraction to consider the relationship between the desert landscape and how it influences an artist’s imagery. The exhibitions open on through March 23. The Branigan Cultural Center is located at 501 N. Main St. and the Museum of Art is located at 491 N. Main St. They are open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. There is no admission charge. For additional information, visit the website at www.lascruces.gov/museums or call 575-541-2154.
- Art lovers in the region have an opportunity to experience 40 years of boundary-breaking artwork by conceptual multimedia artist Celia Álvarez Muñoz. More than 35 of her works are on display at the University Art Museum at New Mexico State University. “Celia Álvarez Muñoz: Breaking the Binding” The show, which includes large-scale immersive installations, photographic series and book projects, runs through March 2. Info: uam.nmsu.edu.
- Agave Artists Gallery artists are celebrating For the Love of Art during the entire month of February. Ceramist Heather Rae Morton is new to Agave Artist Gallery. Her interest in ceramics helped earn her a BFA and a three-year apprenticeship with a master potter in San Diego, California. Morton’s work consists of wheel-thrown stoneware pieces, primarily functional items - mugs, tumblers, and bowls. She keeps the shapes and silhouettes simple, presenting natural colors and delicate hues reminiscent of the Chihuahuan Desert of Las Cruces. The gallery is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday to Monday and until 8 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month at 2250 Calle de San Albino. Info: 575-339-9870.
- 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 February: Mark Morden and Bobbie Widner. Morden is a retired architect from the Pacific Northwest who moved to Las Cruces in 2018. He paints still lifes and portraits. Widner is a native New Mexican who has traveled through Tarahumara/Mayan regions, Portugal/Spain/France as well as attended plein-air workshops in Italy, Big Sur and San Miguel Allende and said these have been fascinating sources to draw from. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Info: 575-522-2933, www.mesillavalleyfinearts.com.
- At the Branigan Cultural Center “The Amadors: Family, Culture, and Identity in Early Las Cruces” exhibit, follows the Amadors’ experience of Mexican families living along the U.S. side of the international boundary following the Mexican American War, as they adjusted to new social, economic, educational, and political systems of the U.S. while holding on to their Mexican identities and cultural values. The museum is open from 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Saturday. Info: www.lascruces.gov/Museums or 575-541-2154.
