Saturday, 12 March 2022

Albuquerque Spring (Covid thawing)

Art is blossoming in Albuquerque as Covid restrictions are lifted and spring approaches.  I walked to FIVE art exhibitions on Friday, March 12th.  I missed the downtown ABQ ArtWalk the week before because I went to an opening at Casa Ortiz in El Paso:


posing at the entrance to the exhibition
at the opening at the National Hispanic Cultural Center


In January 2018 I listed all the galleries in Albuquerque, to emphasize that I couldn't find any art activity in my home town.  Things have changed a lot since then.  Still art is a kind of silo culture in Albuquerque, since I always see different people at different openings...there isn't much overlap.  I think this is explained in the Southwest Contemporary article -- The Individualists.


NATIONAL HISPANIC CULTURAL CENTER

The National Hispanic Cultural Center reopened after the brunt of the Covid pandemic, with an opening on March 11th, 2022, for their exhibit "Fronteras del Futuro":

The opening was well attended


Oscar Moya from El Paso (left)
standing in front of his painting
with Henry Morales on the right

  • Artist Lydia Limas is Oscar Moya's wife and came to the opening as well


Angel Cabrales also came up from El Paso, 
as he had work in the exhibition.



standing in front of his sculptures


Celeste De Luna of San Antonio had two prints in the exhibition:


"See, Shift" print


"Chupacabra at Boca Chica"
large print by Celeste De Luna


CLOVER

The college galleries on 4th Street re-opened, near the National Hispanic Cultural Center:



The National Hispanic Cultural Center has a new Executive Director -- Dr. Margie Huerta -- and new artistic director -- Noël Bella Merriam.


I also checked out The Secret Gallery earlier, just down 4th Street.


EXHIBIT 208

Lucy Maki and Valerie Arber had an opening at Exhibit 208/Thirsty Eye:

in the big gallery


AC2

Rex Barron took me to the AC2 Gallery to see the current show "Crisis Intervention":



Rex Barron framed
at the AC2 Gallery


Rex Barron in front of his painting


Mark Woody
in front of his painting


in front of his painting


JULIANNA KIRWIN'S STUDIO

Julianna Kirwin was busy in her print studio on Saturday, March 12th:

Julianna Kirwin taking down the prints outside her studio
so that she can wheat paste new ones next week


Earlier in the week
John Tollett took my picture
in front of the wheat paste mural


The magic of the press
in Julianna's studio


Stephanie Weiner hold up her print
(we also printed one of her linocuts


Julianna Kirwin is carving a big MDF block image, to take up to Denver on April 2nd and 3rd, to print on the traveling press of BIG INK, on their Big Tuna press:





Remarque Print Workshop

Remarque Print Workshop of Albuquerque had an opening First Friday, March 4th, for both prints by Mark Rice of Philadelphia and the Remarque Print Exchange 2022:











VAN GOGH IMMERSIVE

John Tollett drove down from Santa Fe on Wednesday, March 9th, and took me to the Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Van Gogh Experience. We both made videos of the experience:

Me at the Van Gogh exhibition






I noticed that there are TWO traveling Van Gogh exhibitions:


John Tollett also brought down his two linocuts, for making a two-color 8 x 8 inch relief print:


John Tollett's two linocuts
for making a two-color relief print


Later -- Other Days

New Mexico Museum of Art

On March 16th, I went to the New Mexico Art Museum in Santa Fe.  It is free on Wednesdays for older people; also the Rail Runner trains is free on Wednesdays between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.



516 Arts

Later, on March 18th, I went to the new exhibition at 516 Arts in downtown Albuquerque -- Art Meets History: Technologies of the Spirit.



516 Arts in downtown Albuquerque,



UPCOMING EVENTS

Meanwhile there are two more print lectures coming up at the Albuquerque Museum in conjunction with their current show, The Printer's Proof (I went to the great opening):


  • April 3rd -- Master printers Marina Ancona and Michael Costello and artists Harmony Hammond and Karsten Creightney are featured in the panel.
  • May 1 -- Master printers Robert Arber and Bill Lagattuta will be featured.
  • Ambos Lados comes down two days earlier, on April 29th. In a perfect world we would have a closing that night, you would stick around for the last print lecture, and then drive Ambos Lados back to El Paso.

516 Arts in Albuquerque is sponsoring a trip to the El Paso and Ciudad Juarez museums, as part of their "Desierto Mountain Time" integration:





I noticed some new sculptures in front of the building One Central at 1st and Central in Albuquerque, where the Canvas and Artistry cafe is (on the 3rd Floor):


Sculptures in front of the One Central building
in Albuquerque





The One Central building
is across from the Rail Runner terminal
in Albuquerque


There was an opening in Juarez at Rezizte Panaderia on Saturday, March 12th:



  • Next week Eric Romero is presenting at the RGAA (Rio Grande Art Association)

Things seem to be getting back to normal back in Tucson, at the Sculpture Resource Center.


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