March Arts Scene

SILVER CITY

• The third annual Grant County photography exhibition features 28 Grant County artists and is titled “Magical Light”  is on display March 3 - April 1 at Light Art Space, 209 W. Broadway in downtown Silver City.  A variety of images including Polaroid transfers and gilded images will be on display. Also on display is “Into the Wood(s): From the Functional to the Whimsical” wood work by Art Peterson. The gallery is open 11 a.m.-5p.m., Saturday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. , First Fridays until 7 p.m. and by appointment. Info: www.lightartspace.com.

• The Grant County Art Guild welcomed painter Hiram Lewis, 3D needle felter and stop action animator Nan Chalet-Noaker, and copper and brass metalsmith Greg “Hands” Collins to the gallery in February. The GCAG Gallery shows the work of over local 35 artists and artisans working in a wide variety of mediums. Lewis’s paintings include bold abstracts as well as landscapes and collages. Chalet-Noaker’s gallery display showcases whimsical 3-D needle felted people and creatures. These figures star in her stop-action animated shorts. Collins’ display includes engraved jewelry as well as copper mirror frames and clocks. All copper used in his work is local. The GCAG Gallery is located at 316 N Bullard Street in Silver City. Hours are from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. seven days a week. In addition to promoting the work of local artists in the gallery, the Guild hosts open studios, classes, art shows and other events. Open Studios are at the GCAG Studio, 200 Market W. Market St., from noon-3 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month – bring a creative project or use our basic art supplies. Info: gcag.org.

• Three artists have joined up to provide an art display at the Silver City Public Library. Diane Cornelius, Thia Utz, and Beatriz Giraldo are the featured artists in the Public Library main room through March. They are all members of the Grant County Art Guild. Cornelius said, “depicting NM rivers, skies, mountains, and creatures is my passion. Using oils, acrylics and watercolor, I attempt to share the beauty of nature with others.” Utz is a local artist who enjoys oil and acrylic painting. She delights in capturing the light, shapes and colors of the natural world. Beatriz Giraldo enjoys painting and haiku inspired by the manifestations of Mother Nature and by her own introspection. Her highest intention is to convey to the viewer/reader the peace she finds through her painting and haiku, to offer a moment of pause and appreciation for the beauty in the world.

DEMING

• March 2023 at the Deming Art Center features the Deming High School art students. There will be a time to meet the artists from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday, March 5, at the Deming Art Center, 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

• “Máscaras – Masked/Unmasked,” remains at the Rio Bravo Fine Art Gallery, 110 N. Broadway St., T or C through April 23. In the Máscaras – Masked/Unmasked exhibition, Darlene McElroy and Paul White offer clues that help us uncover essential truths often hidden from view. Using a variety of media – rusted metal parts, found objects, ephemera, and cast objects – McElroy's paintings and assemblages present a largely symbolic narrative. White's multi-colored fused dichroic glass masks have a direct appeal in that they evoke a fantasy world of unbridled luminance, such as one might experience at Mardi Gras or Carnival. Info: www.riobravofineartgallery.com/fineartexhibition.

ALAMOGORDO/TULAROSA

• “Student Art Exhibition,” is at Otero Artspace, located at 1118 Indiana St. (the corner of 12th Street and Indiana Avenue) in Alamogordo. This exhibit features Otero County youth from kindergarten to 12^th grades. A reception will be held 4-6 p.m. Friday, March 3.The exhibit is open from 1-4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday and continues throughout March. Info: www.oteroarts.org or follow Otero Arts on Facebook.

LAS CRUCES

• The Doña Ana Arts Council, celebrates Women’s History Month in March with a group exhibit, “Unfinished Business: Women’s Power of Persistence.” The title of the exhibit reflects a recurring and recognizable trajectory in women’s history: one of great strides and recurrent setbacks, making women’s work “unfinished.” The exhibit is guest curated by Las Cruces artist Mary Diesel. The exhibit features work by a diverse group of 30 women artists of different ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, sexuality, and gender identities and who work in a range of media, including painting, sculpture, photography, video, fiber art, and installation art. A First Friday opening is 5-8 p.m. on March 3, followed y a Second Saturday opening March 11. The Arts Council Gallery, 230 S. Water St. in Las Cruces is open from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Info: 575-523-6403 or director@daarts.org.  

• The Frame and Art Center's featured artist for March is Renee Short. Her abstract style and photography is on display. All art is framed for sale. The Frame and Art Center is located at 1100 S. Main Street, Las Cruces. Open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Info: 575-526-2808. 

• The Las Cruces Museum of Art, 491 N. Main St., features a retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Art, “Gaspar Enríquez: Chicano Pride, Chicano Soul.” Enríquez is a nationally recognized Chicano artist from El Paso, who uses an airbrush to created hyper-realistic portraits. The exhibit is on view through Sunday, May 6. Enríquez is a self-defined Chicano artist who has been at the forefront of the national Chicano art movement for more than 50 years. The Museum of Art is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Info: 575-541-2137.

• Agave Artists Gallery welcomes new artist Storm Sermay. She's been named Artist of March. Sermay works in black and white and color with her photo-combinations creating an emotional sense of place that does not exist in real life - nature composites. Sermay will hold a discussion about taking traditional photographs and turning them into fantasy landscapes at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 12. View her work at the Agave Gallery, 2250 Calle De San Albino, which is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday to Monday. The gallery is at 2250 Calle De San Albino. Info: 575-339-9870.

• The Tombaugh Gallery features the work of Julia Masaoka. The opening reception is 11 a.m.-1:3- p.m., Sunday, March 5. Masaoka has been doing art for over 40 years. She originally worked as an abstract landscape painter before transitioning to creating mixed-media shrines and assemblages. She primarily works with metal, hardware and iconic images, using objects from scrap yards, thrift stores, and the desert. She calls her art “Trashformation” – beauty from trash. 
  The gallery is at 2000 S. Solano. Visit the Tombaugh Gallery at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2000 S. Solano Drive. Las Cruces. The gallery is open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday- Sunday. Info: jelicht@gmail.com.

• 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: Woody Hoffman and Jane Madrid. Hoffman moved to Las Cruces in 2004, where he took up the hobby of woodturning. Every year Woody attends symposiums to hone his skills, learn new techniques, and improve and update his equipment. Most of the wood he uses is from recycled sources where it was destined for firewood, but special woods and burls are purchased for special pieces. Madrid has been a Las Cruces resident since 1959 and has painted since the age of eight. Her main media of painting is oil and some acrylic. 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. Info: 575-522-2933, www.mesillavalleyfinearts.com.

• Two exhibitions at the New Mexico State University Art Museum help usher in 2023 in collaboration with the Department of Art. They are focused on artists who teach.
  One, "Together Through as Within," is scheduled from Jan. 20 through March 11, features the work of staff and faculty within the Department of Art in NMSU's College of Arts and Sciences, where each educator is also an artist. A second exhibition running concurrently is "Ad Infinitum: Artists Against War and Imperialism,"scheduled from Jan. 20 through May 20. The show features war-era posters and artworks from the NMSU Permanent Art Collection in the Bunny Conlon Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery. The artwork highlights twentieth-century imperialism and its effects such as militarization, the nuclear arms race, the destruction of human lives and damage to the natural environment. The UAM is at 1390 E. University Avenue. Art museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

• An exhibit at the Branigan Cultural Center, 501 N. Main St., Las Cruces, “Vale la Pena” (It’s Worth It), features artwork by Gina Gwen Palacios. She is multi-media artist who draws upon her family history and Mexican American identity to create portraits of herself and her family’s lived experiences. The exhibit is up through March 25. The Branigan Cultural Center is open 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tuesday to Friday and 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Saturday. There is no admission charge. Info: 575-541-2154.

• Carlitta Harvey’s artwork is featured in a new exhibit at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces. “Rural Life in New Mexico: Paintings by Carlitta Harvey” is open in the Museum’s Arts Corridor. Growing up on a farm, Harvey’s inspiration and foundation as an artist were cultivated at an early age. She paints farm scenes when she was old enough to buy her own watercolors. There are 23 paintings in the show, which will be on display through April 2. The museum, at 4100 Dripping Springs Road in Las Cruces is open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Info: 575-522-4100.