D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
June
2009
Metamorphosis in Paint
An exhibit at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum shows a new side of artist Virginia Maria Romero.
Fans of Las Cruces artist Virginia Maria Romero may be surprised by some of the images in her current exhibit at the Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. The exhibit, "Retablo, Metamorphosis, Vision: The Artwork of Virginia Maria Romero," which will be on view in the museum's Arts Corridor through August 2, features the familiar retablos and spiritual paintings of her earlier work in the santero tradition (see "Pictures of Devotion," July 2005). But it also displays some of Romero's more recent work — such as this issue's cover — which incorporates local wildlife and Native American symbols with traditional saints.
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Romeros newer work, with animal themes,
includes "Outcasts." |
According to Megan Walker, exhibits designer for the museum, "Retablo, Metamorphosis, Vision" shows the stylistic evolution of this popular regional artist. "The opening in April was a smashing success," Walker adds. "This is also going to be an unforgettable show for volunteers and staff."
During an art-reflection talk at the opening, local writer and radio host Luis Cruz commented, "Romero has taken an ancient art form and redefined it, reinvented it, and made it her own."
Artistic evolution has been a constant for Romero, who has come a long way from a childhood in Sheffield Lake, Ohio, that was an unlikely preparation for a career as a santero painter. Although Romero says she awakened to her own artistic impulses as early as the age of seven, she never pursued formal art training. Even when she relocated to New Mexico in 1982, it wasn't with the idea of becoming an artist.
That began to change under the tutelage of Charles Carrillo, a New Mexico master santero painter. Carrillo taught her not only painting, but how to prepare her own materials — natural pigments and gesso and pinon varnish. That shared knowledge enabled Romero to hew closely to the traditions of Hispanic devotional art, while incorporating her own contemporary vision.
Appropriately, the Farm and Ranch museum exhibit opened in time for the annual springtime Blessing of the Fields and celebration of San Ysidro: Romero created the beautiful bulto used each year in the museum's Blessing of the Fields procession.
Today, Romero's art is in permanent collections including the San Miguel Mission and El Museo Cultural in Santa Fe; the Maria Stein Heritage Museum/National Marian Shrine of the Holy Relics in Maria Stein, Ohio; and Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine & Parish in Mesilla Park. Governor Bill Richardson is among her collectors as well. She was a participant in the Trail of Painted Ponies art project.
Romero is also a published, award-winning poet, author of two books, The Turtle Called My Name and Under The Raven's Wing.
The Las Cruces Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum is located at 4100 Dripping Springs Road; take exit 1 off of Interstate 25 in Las Cruces and go east 1.5 miles. The museum is open Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, 12-5 p.m. 522-4100, www.nmfarmandranchmuseum.org