D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
April
2009
Art Shorts
Page: 2The Branigan Cultural Center will host and sponsor a variety of arts events this month, including two art exhibits and a dance event. The New Mexico Watercolor Society Southern Chapter's 2009 Spring Membership Exhibit opens April 3 with an artists' reception 5-7 p.m. Twenty-two artists will show 34 paintings selected by juror Bill Rakocy of El Paso. This show, the Southern Chapter's third juried Spring exhibit, features a wide variety of works, from realistic to expressive abstractions of subjects including figurative, floral, landscape, still life and animals. The exhibit continues through April 28.
Also, the exhibit "Colors and Textures of Southern New Mexico" will be held over for an additional month at the Branigan. The exhibit opened March 6 and was scheduled to close at the end of the month, but will remain on display through April 25. The show features the work of three Las Cruces artists, Judy Licht, Lynn Unangst and Laurel Weathersbee. The artists have included a variety of two- and three-dimensional works, interpreting their visions of this area's flora, culture and landscape. "The exhibit has been very well received, and we are pleased to be able to extend the exhibit another month," says Garland Courts, Branigan Cultural Center manager. In addition, a gallery talk has been set for April 11, 11 a.m., in which Weathersbee will discuss the theme and her technique of torn-paper watercolor collage. The program is free and will take place in the exhibit hall. 501 N. Main St., on the Downtown Mall, 541-2155, 541-2154, www.las-cruces.org/museums
And the 4th Annual Day of Dance, sponsored by the Branigan Cultural Center, is set for April 26, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The program has become so popular that it has moved from the Cultural Center down the street to the Rio Grande Theater to accommodate larger audiences. The International Day of Dance was initiated in 1982 by the International Dance Council, under the auspices of UNESCO. The council's purpose is to act as a worldwide forum for bringing together international, national and local organizations, and individuals active in dance. Branigan Cultural Center began hosting a local International Day of Dance in 2006 to present culturally diverse dance forms found in the Las Cruces area.
An eclectic one-person exhibit by local artist Margaret Bernstein, "Flowers and Sunshine, with occasional dark," opens at thetheatregallery in the Black Box Theater April 17, with an artist's reception as part of the May Downtown Ramble. The works foretell the mood and tone of the play, Enchanted April, running April 17-May 3 at the theater. "To create artwork inspired by a playwright's look at the world is a unique experience and one I enjoy," Bernstein says, "because the playwright's view often coincides well with my concept of making art." 430 N. Downtown Mall.
Artists of the Las Cruces Arts Association celebrate their fifth decade of supporting the arts with the opening of an exhibit, "The World Around Us," at the Cottonwood Gallery April 3, 5-7 p.m. The opening is in conjunction with the Downtown Ramble. It is the group's 47th annual Membership Show, featuring works in a variety of art mediums. Prizes will be awarded in four categories. The show runs through April 27. The gallery is in the Southwest Environmental Center, 275 N. Downtown Mall, 522-5552.
You have just two days to catch the 2009 NMSU Juried Student Exhibit. Joy Miller, curator at the Museum of Art, juried the show, which runs through April 2. NMSU Art Gallery, DW Williams Art Building, University at Solano, 646-2545. www.nmsu.edu/~artgal
And the artistic talents of Las Cruces high school seniors will be on display at the Museum of Art during the annual "All-City High School Seniors' Exhibition," opening with a reception for the artists April 17, 5-7 p.m. The crowd-pleasing show runs through April 26 and will include artwork by students graduating from Alma de Arte, Las Cruces, Mayfield, and Oate High Schools. The works cover a wide range of artistic mediums, including ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, drawing and painting, photography and mixed media. "We are always delighted to be part the High School Seniors' Exhibition," says Museum of Art manager Lisa Pugh. "This tradition is one of my favorite events." The opening reception will be catered by senior students in high school culinary arts programs, whose creations will be judged for taste and presentation. 491 N. Main St., 541-2137, museums.las-cruces.org
Artist members of the Teacup Garden Studio group will present "Animal Dreams," an exhibit introducing and illustrating local wildlife, at the Tombaugh Gallery this month, with an opening reception April 5, 12-2 p.m. The works in a variety of mediums, created by 11 regular studio members, will display the artists' many interpretations of wildlife habits — and perhaps dreams! The gallery is in the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2000 S. Solano, 521-3917.
The Mesilla Valley Fine Arts Gallery will feature Joyce Ann Key and Sally Quillen this month. 2470-A Calle de Guadalupe, 522-2933.
John Boler has opened a Las Cruces- and Internet-based art business, John A. Boler Fine Art, providing art sales, consultations, art brokerage and appraisals within his established expertise in contemporary Southwest art and American Indian art. Bohler currently showcases the works of eight area artists: Amy Cordova, Taos, painting and printmaking; Dan Enger, Taos, painting and printmaking; Pamela Enriquez-Courts, Las Cruces, painting; Sally McDevitt, Albuquerque, painting; John Northcutt, Las Cruces, metal sculpture; Yvonne Postelle, Las Cruces, painting; Dolona Roberts, El Paso, painting and printmaking; and Ouida Touchon, Las Cruces, painting. Several works of each artist are available for viewing on the website, in Boler's home office or in the client's home or office. Boler has been a specialist in the Southwest and American Indian art genres for 25 years and recently relocated from Minneapolis to Las Cruces. 4372 Camino Dos Vidas, 382-6914, www.johnabolerfineart.com
Luna County Arts Scene
The Deming Arts Council will sponsor an Open Studio Art Tour, April 25-26. For more information, contact the council at 546-3663 or stop in at 100 S. Gold St.
Sierra County Arts Scene
To celebrate "Spring with a Zing," the artists and artisans of Percha Creek Traders in Hillsboro will present craft and fine art demonstrations to the public, April 4, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. "We'll have several fascinating demonstrations going on all day, everything from quilting and thread painting to wood turning to wire sculpture," says Matilde Holzwarth, president of the artists' cooperative. "And, of course, our galleries will be full of new works — something for everyone at affordable prices. It's time to celebrate spring!" Participating artists include Marge Myers, demonstrating free-motion quilting and thread painting; ceramic artist Kathy Lovell, creating whimsical animals in clay; Sandy Hopper, applying dyes and resists on silk; Jane Dobrott, shaping wire into complicated animal sculptures; Geno Washburn, turning bowls from native sycamore; Ellie Nordgren, sharing soap-making secrets; and Melody Sears, inviting visitors to help her paint in oils and pastels. Members of Percha Creek Traders are local artists who share the work of operating their large cooperative store, which is located in an historic building on the main street running through Hillsboro, an old mining town laid out along picturesque Percha Creek.
Percha Creek Traders also will have a special showing of wire-sculpture art by Jane Dobrott, with a reception and refreshments April 25, 10- a.m.-4 p.m. Dobrott brings years of ranch life, coupled with a degree in fine arts, to her wire sculptures of horses and other animals. Her subject matter comes from the life around her: She lives on a buffalo ranch in south-central New Mexico managed by her husband, Steve, and the two of them also manage a conservation-breeding group of rare Spanish Barb horses, the breed brought to the Americas by the conquistadors. For several years, she has experimented with wire-bending techniques, testing types and gauges of wire and types of twists to sculpt her animals and give them personalities. "My hands look kind of shredded most of the time," she says, "but it sure is fun!" Hwy. 152 in downtown Hillsboro, 18 miles west of I-25 at exit 63. 895-5116, www.perchacreektraders.com
The April Art Hop in downtown Truth or Consequences will be April 11, 6-9 p.m. Galleries, studios, shops and restaurants will be open late; see the Downtown Gallery Association website for info on opening exhibits and other special events. www.torcart.com