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
- The Silver City Art Association hosts a First Friday gallery walk on March 1 in the Historic District of downtown Silver City. Galleries and their business friends will be open from 5-7 p.m. for receptions, art talks and other art events, with several galleries featuring artists on site to discuss their work. First Fridays are held from 5-7 p.m. on the first Friday of every month. For a map of participating galleries, or for more information about the Silver City Art Association, see silvercityart.com.
- The weird (and sometimes not so weird) creations of local wood carver Mark Cantrell are on display at the Grant County Art Guild Gallery. Cantrell discusses his process at the GCAG 5-7 p.m. on March 1 during Silver City’s First Fridays at the gallery art walk. Refreshments will be served, and Cantrell will display a progressive selection of his work from raw wood to finished sculptures. 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.
- Light Art Space, 209 W. Broadway in Silver City, features “Picturing Wilderness” in celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the Gila Wilderness. The exhibition features images by 26 Grant County Photographers. In the Flash Gallery, “Border to Border,” features the new works of Stephan Höglund. Höglund’s work comes from a sense of place or more accurately, places. Gleaming both inspiration as well as surface found material of his region. Northern Minnesota is where it first began and he now continues in the open High Mesa and High Desert of Southwest New Mexico near Silver City. These places not only have been the source of the materials in much of the work, but also seem to sustain a creative and spiritual roadmap. The reception for both exhibitions is scheduled for 5-7 p.m., Friday, March 1. The gallery is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday; and by appointment. Info: lightartspace.com.
ALAMOGORDO
- Otero Arts features “Chasing the Light” an en plein air pastel exhibition with work by Janet Amtmann and Lyn Canham at the Artspace located at 1118 Indiana Ave. in Alamogordo. The exhibition opens with a reception 5-7 p.m. on March 1. The two artists are members of Otero Arts as well as Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, Pastel Society of New Mexico, and Cloudcroft Art Society. In the course of winding down her career as a cognitive psychologist, Canham reintroduced herself to drawing and painting by studying with various New Mexican art teachers. Her pastel paintings flow from her lifelong love of nature. Amtmann’s interest in painting began as a young child studying with her mother, a landscape and portrait artist. She studied oils, acrylics and watercolor in her teen years. “My work carries with it the whispered teaching of many artists I have known and the joy and excitement I feel when confronted with the natural world that is New Mexico,” she said. Info: oteroarts.org.
DEMING
- The March 2024, exhibit at the Deming Art Center features the creations of the
local quilting club – The Quilting B’s. On display are bed-size quilts, along with wall hangings, challenges, dolls, bead art and smaller quilted items. Many will be for sale. This year two quilts that are part of a drawing and a silent auction featuring several antique quilts, two antique throws, and some new quilts. The raffle and silent auction close at 3 p.m. March 29. There will be a time to meet the quilters 1-3 p.m. Sunday, March 3. 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. The show runs through April 21. For this joint show, Winkler has chosen the title of “The Dance Begins” for her pieces. This 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.
CARRIZOZO
- Artist Joan Malkerson, known for paintings, ceramics, sculpture and installations, is set to unveil a solo art show centered around the theme of seeds. The exhibition, titled “The Seed Woman,” showcases a diverse collection of artworks that delve into the aesthetic and profound significance of seeds in our world. There will be an opening reception 5-7 p.m., Saturday, March 2. The Red Door Gallery is located downstairs in the Lutz Building at 401Twelfth Street, at the Photozozo Gallery of Photography in Carrizozo. 88301. Info: 612-963-1499.
MAGDALENA
- Charmaine Locke’s“Scenes from A Blues Opera” is featured this at kind of a small array, 106 N. Main in Magdalena. Locke’s early eighties oil pastel and putty drawings came straight out of her daily life in the woods of the Big Thicket in east Texas, where she made her home and studio for twenty years. Her figures are players in an allegory, her dwellings psychological as much as physical. The strokes in the drawings are hewn and carved, as if drawing a life out of the woods. In fact, she was. Info: kindofasmallarray.com.
LAS CRUCES
- In his first solo show at Gallery 925 Shane Wiggs is showing his acrylic paintings, graphite, acrylic and India ink for large drawings as well as hand cut linoleum prints, some hand colored with watercolor. Wiggs was born in El Paso in 1970. As early as 4 years old he was painting. Decay has become a primary concern in his work “because I find beauty and pathos in the aging works of man; specifically in aging agricultural/industrial architecture and facilities.” An Opening reception is First Friday, 4-7 p.m., March 1. Wiggs will be at the gallery 11-5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, March 16,17 to talk about his work. Gallery 925 is at 925 N Mesquite St. Gallery hours are 1-5 p.m. Fridays and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Info: gallery925nm.com.
- The Tombaugh Gallery presents a combined show featuring two well-known Las Cruces artists, Carrie Greer and Karen Ziebert. Both artists have explored various mediums over the course of their careers, but both have discovered the breadth of expression possible with encaustic or working in wax. The artwork is painted with melted pigmented wax or fused to the substrate using a heat source, such as a propane torch. The exhibit opens with an artist’s reception 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sunday, March 3. The show runs through March 24. 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” is 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 run 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.
- Agave Artists Gallery features its newest member, Cate Thomassen. She initially worked with mixed media - found object sculpture and painting. She has combined her two loves, painting and sculpting with mosaics. 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 March: Frank Rimbach and Naida Zucker. Rimbach’s work is primarily in landscapes, bookcase series and modern abstracts. He is currently exploring landscapes, capturing the rugged beauty of surrounding Las Cruces. Zucker, a mixed media artist, combines gelatin monoprinting (hectography) with digital photography. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Info: 575-522-2933, www.mesillavalleyfinearts.com.
- Las Cruces Arts Fair 2024 features booths and exhibits and takes place 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, March 23 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, March 24 at the Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave. Info: 575-523-6403.
