D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
November
2008
Art Shorts
Grant County Arts Scene
After 17 years she calls "delightful," the celebrated and decorated artist Dorothy McCray, a grand dame in the local art community, is closing her Atelier McCray gallery on Broadway. The neighboring Azurite Gallery will add the space to its present location next door. McCray's oil and acrylic paintings, lithograph prints and other works on paper will continue to be represented locally by Azurite in Silver City and the JW Art Gallery in Hurley. McCray continues to work in her home studio, and new and archival works can be seen on her Web site, www.dorothymccray.com
Western New Mexico University alumni will be featured in a new exhibit at the Francis McCray Gallery of Contemporary Art at WNMU through Nov. 2. The gallery has dedicated this entire year's exhibits in celebration of artists associated with the university's Visual Arts degree program. The McCray Gallery will be open during the Homecoming Tailgate Party Nov. 1, 12 p.m., and during the Farewell Breakfast Nov. 2, 8:30 a.m., as part of Homecoming festivities. 538-6675.
JW Art Gallery will feature the woodcut and relief prints of Ouida Touchon and the whimsical wood sculptures of Bill Kaderly, with an opening exhibit for the artists Nov. 8, 2-5 p.m. There will be music and refreshments. The show runs through Dec. 12. The gallery is housed in the historic Old Hurley Store, 99 Cortez Ave., 537-0300, www.thetown.com
Mimbres Valley fine art photographer Robert Medina Cook recently was honored with three awards. For the second year in a row, the Smithsonian-affiliated Hubbard Museum of the American West awarded him first place in its Fall American Photography Exhibition for his photograph entitled "Resurrection." Two of Medina Cook's other entries, "Church at Las Trampas" and "Adobe Moon," were awarded third place and honorable mention, respectively. This year's exhibition will be on display in the museum's Green Tree Gallery in Ruidoso through Dec. 26. Medina Cook presently is represented by several galleries throughout New Mexico, including Seedboat Gallery in Silver City. www.RobertMedinaCook.com
Silver City jewelry and metal artist Karen Lauseng is the featured artist at Moonstruck Art. The tin art of Renee Whipple, featured during the Dia de los Muertos, also is on exhibit. 110 W. Yankie St., 956-5346, www.moonstruckart.com
Dias de los Muertos will be celebrated at Leyba & Ingalls Arts with ofrendas and art, Nov.1 from 4-6 p.m. and Nov. 2 from 12-2 p.m. 315 N. Bullard, 388-5725.
Works by ceramic artist Molly Heizer are now on view at Lois Duffy Art, 211-C N. Texas St., 313-9631.
The Mimbres Region Arts Council's "Evening with the Artist" series continues Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. with Tom Waldron. Life Quest, 907 N. Pope St. 538-2505, www.mimbresarts.org
The annual group show at Seedboat Gallery will run Nov. 28-Dec. 31, with an opening reception Friday, Nov. 28, 4-7 p.m. Featured artists include Ginny Wolf, Judith Meyer, Kathy Anderson, Gina Heiden, Simon Sotelo, Christine Baker and Melanie Zipin. 214 W. Yankie, info@seedboatgallery.com
The annual holiday raffle for the Yankie-Texas Art District will be held Nov. 29 at 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at any of the Yankie-Texas galleries.
The Mimbres Hot Springs Ranch will hold its 28th annual Studio Sale, with 25 artists selling a variety of unique, handcrafted items, Dec. 6-7, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The event will feature live music by Bayou Seco, refreshments and door prizes. To get there, take Hwy 152 to Mimbres 61 South to Royal John Mine Rd. Follow the signs 2 1/2 miles to the Hot Springs Ranch.
Las Cruces and Mesilla Arts Scene
A group of Las Cruces artists invites you to see their art in its natural habitat the weekend after Thanksgiving in the 2nd Annual Fall Open Studio Tour. Nov. 29-30, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., a cluster of studios along the Picacho Corridor will be open to the public. This year's participants are: Ouida Touchon; Old Quesenberry Farm Studio (Bonnie Mandoe); Mesquite Street Studios (Diana Ayres, Marie Siegrist, Pat Walke, Sylvia Bowers, Susan Long, Toby de Voss, Terry Wolfe); The Maggie Cat; Linda Sundell Gendall; Penny Duncklee; and Tauna Cole. All the studios are within a 10-minute range, keeping driving to a minimum. Each location will offer snacks, beverages and the opportunity for conversation with the artists. Request a map to all studios at fallstudiotour@gmail.com or call 635-7899.
"Miniatures" is the current exhibit of the Las Cruces Arts Association, on display at the Terrace Gallery in the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, Nov. 29-Jan. 31. In keeping with the group's mission to offer affordable art, all work in this exhibit will be for sale at $200 or less. 200 E. Picacho, 528-4000.
In celebration of the continuing exhibit, "Rodin: In His Own Words; Selections from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation," the Las Cruces Friends of Chamber Music will give a special performance, "Musical Reflections on the Life and Times of Rodin," at the Las Cruces Museum of Art Nov. 8, 1 p.m. Admission to the exhibit and this performance are free. 491 N. Main St., north end of the Downtown Mall. 541-2137, museums.las-cruces.org
"Take Tea and See," the Ten O'clock Club's new exhibit, opens Nov. 1 at Abraham's Bank Tower Restaurant, 4th floor, at the intersection of Main and Lohman. The TenOClockers find hot tea a favorite beverage for the winter season and a solace for the shorter days and longer nights. The group of artists takes its name from members' deliberate habit of stopping whatever they are doing for a minimum of 10 minutes each day to hone their art skills. Participants, all Las Cruces artists, include Jean Smith, June Decker, Jan Addy, Penny Duncklee, Alice Dressler, Susan Rivera and Margaret Bernstein. The "Take Tea and See" exhibit runs through January. 523-5911.
Photographer David Shaw happened on a procession of pick-up trucks and horse trailers traveling down a dusty road in Encinitas, Calif., and on impulse followed them. This led to Shaw's discovery of the world of La Charreada, the Mexican Horse Rodeo. An exhibit of silver-gelatin prints celebrating the people, Los Charros, and the event, La Charreada, is the culmination of three years of travel into this centuries-old competition and exhibition of horsemanship. The exhibit, "La Charreada: Fotos de Los Charros Magnificos," opens at the Branigan Cultural Center Nov. 7, with an artist reception 5-7 p.m. The works will remain on display through Dec. 27. Supplementing the photography will be informational panels providing the history of La Charreada and describing the various events and feats. The panels will be presented in both English and Spanish. 501 N. Main St., north end of the downtown mall. 541-2154, museums.las-cruces.org
Andy Warhol is getting his 15 minutes of fame at NMSU. The NMSU Art Gallery will exhibit a selection of 28 Warhol photographs Nov. 14-Dec. 23, with an opening reception Nov. 14, 5 p.m. Original photographs taken by Andy Warhol between 1970 and 1987 capture artists, celebrities and socialites as color Polaroid images, while the streets of New York were the subject of many of the black and white silver-gelatin prints. Warhol used photographs as the basis for his paintings, and so there are multiple, often repetitious images of any given subject. This in turn fed into the repetition seen in his silk-screened images, the multiples of Jackie Kennedy and Elvis being among Warhol's most iconic works. 100 Williams Hall, Solano at University Ave. 646-2545.
Artist Dana Kleinman will speak, show photographs of artwork and answer questions about her experience exhibiting at the 2008 Beijing Biennale in conjunction with the Summer Olympics in China, in a presentation at the Preston Contemporary Art Center Nov. 21, 7 p.m. Free admission. 1755 Avenida de Mercado, 523-8713.
The New Mexico Watercolor Society, Southern Chapter, will exhibit the works of 23 local watercolorists at its 2008 Fall Membership Show, Nov. 7-30 at the Rio Grande Theatre, opening with an artists' reception Nov. 7, 5-7 p.m. The show will feature large and small works in a wide variety of subjects and techniques. The exhibit continues through November. 523-6403.
Unsettled Gallery will exhibit "Twilight on the Apacheria," featuring works by local fiber and watermedia artists Lynn Unangst, Phil Yost and Laurel Weathersbee, showcasing the artists' visions of southern New Mexico landscape and culture. An opening reception for the artists will be held Nov. 8, 2-4 p.m. The show continues until Dec. 6. 905 N. Mesquite, 647-8053.
ArtForm's Photography and Sculpture Show, Nov. 2-Dec. 3, will be hosted by the Unitarian Universalist Church's Tombaugh Gallery with an artists' reception Nov. 9, 2-4 p.m. More than 20 artists will show their work. 2000 S. Solano.
The Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery will feature artists Rayma Claessen and Bobbie Widner during the month of November. 2470-A Calle de Guadalupe, 522-2933, www.zianet.com/mvartgallery
The Potters' Guild of Las Cruces will hold its annual holiday sale on Friday and Saturday, Nov, 21-22, at the Las Cruces Association of Realtors Building, 150 E. Idaho (adjacent to Comcast Cable). Sale hours are Friday, 4-9 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Luna County Arts Scene
The Deming Arts Council's Wood Turning Show, featuring works by Wilfred Rotherman, George Thompson and Les Fairchild, continues through Nov. 19 at its 100 S. Gold St. gallery. There will be a reception for the artists Saturday, Nov. 8, from 1-3 p.m.
Hidalgo County Arts Scene
The Chiricahua Gallery in Rodeo opens its holiday show the weekend of Nov. 22-23, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The historic gallery will offer artisan-made and fine art items suitable for gift giving, including handcrafted tree ornaments, scented soap and candles, pottery, oil paintings, fine art photography, jewelry, punched tin decorative items, crafted gourds, birdhouses, fiber arts items, books by local authors and more. Hwy. 80, open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sierra County Arts Scene
The Monte Cristo Gift Shop & Gallery will host its third annual "Yuletide in Chloride" for the month of November. Hand-crafted gifts created by more than two-dozen local artisans in a wide range of mediums and styles include pillows, glassware, stuffed animals, jewelry and purses, wallets and shirts, as well as candies from Coyote Kitchen, local honey and other homemade foods. The gift shop and gallery is located in historic Chloride, 35 miles west of Truth or Consequences via Hwy. 52. 743-0493, montecristogallery@windstream.net
M Gallery in Truth or Consequences will exhibit "Watertowers," an exhibit of 40 paintings by Dan Bern, Nov. 8-30, with an opening reception coinciding with the monthly Art Hop, Nov. 8, 6-9 p.m. Bern is better known for his 12 albums-worth of songs, featured in movies such as "Walk Hard — the Dewey Cox story" and "Jimmy Carter, Man From Plains." This is his first art exhibit. 406 Main St., 740-4526, www.moshekoenick.com
This month's Art Hop in the Truth or Consequences Downtown Gallery District will be Saturday, Nov. 8, from 6-9 p.m. www.torcart.com