NM2007 - Visual Art - Taos

About 110 years ago, the story goes, a wagon became stuck on a sandy road bank outside Taos, and its passengers — two East Coast artists suddenly stranded in the Southwest — decided to stay nearby, creating the Taos Society of Artists. The scenery was spectacular — a painting everywhere they looked.

The Taos founders established a colony that has stood the test of time, continuing to inspire generations of artists working in all media — painting and sculpture, as well as jewelry and vessels.

"We have a very well-rounded and complete art scene in Taos, from painting and sculpture to writing, film, theater, music, poetry, and dance," says Eric Andrews of 203 Fine Arts (203 Ledoux Street).

"Taos is a tricultural town; we have the mix of the original Native Americans, the Spanish, and the Anglo population all living together."

Local art has a special appeal, with approximately 85 percent of sales pegged to Taos artists (in Santa Fe, which is more international in scope, local art accounts for less than 20 percent of sales).

Most of the action unfolds along Kit Carson Road and Ledoux Street. And there's plenty to see: The Taos Gallery Association counts nearly 40 art galleries and artist studios among its membership, and even their most contemporary artists share a distinctively Southwestern aesthetic.

Bryans Gallery (121 Kit Carson Road), shows Gregory Lomayesva, who uses mixed media to explore the philosophy of his Hopi ancestors, as well as trends in contemporary culture, while Laurie Hill Phelps and Bob Rohm focus their oils, acrylics, and watercolors on the landscape.

Landscapes rule at Wilder Nightingale Fine Art (199-A Kit Carson Road), which has a roster of 40 artists, including Stephen Day, Phil Epp, Lawrence Herrera, Margaret Nes, and Ray Vinella. Also on Kit Carson Road are Mission Gallery, Grimshaw Fine Art, Old World Fine Art, Parsons Gallery of the West, and Total Arts Gallery.

At 203 Fine Art (203 Ledoux St.), artists/partners Eric Andrews (modernist) and Shaun Richel (abstraction) show their newest paintings alongside important early modernist works by Hans Burkhardt, Anya Fisher, Gabriele Munter, and Saul Hanig.

"I wanted our gallery to be something different from what people have come to expect a gallery to be in Taos," Richel says. "The look and feel is as New York as one can get in a 150-year-old adobe. There are very few galleries here that represent the contemporary modern and abstract artist. I have a love for the early Abstract Expressionist and the early Taos Modernist movements. They show where our inspiration and approach in painting comes from."

Navajo Gallery (210 Ledoux Street) features paintings, drawings, lithographs, ceramics, and sculpture by the late Navajo icon R.C. Gorman. Also on Ledoux Street are The Harwood Museum, Ortenstone Gallery, and Rane Gallery.

"The movement on Ledoux Street has been in the renovations of many of the buildings that were dilapidated and closed for the past decade or more," Richel says. "Now they house galleries, restaurants, and shops. There is a new energy here."

Visitors should also see Envision Gallery, located in the Overland Ranch Complex three miles north of Taos Plaza. The gallery and sculpture garden shows local, national, and international work and donates a percentage of all sales to local charities.

Fenix Gallery (208-A Ranchitos Road) also shows nationally recognized works, including ceramic sculptures by California icon Ken Price, photography by Bob Attiyeh, works on paper and canvas by Lee Mullican, and wood sculptures by John Murry.

Tony Stromberg's equine photography — in color, sepia, and black and white — stands out at Terrie Bennett Gallerie (103 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte), while Tony Abeyta wins collectors at Blue Rain Gallery (117 South Taos Plaza) with his paintings, assemblages, and works on paper.

Farnsworth Gallery (122 Paseo del Pueblo Norte) showcases John Farnsworth's acrylic, oil, pastel, and watercolor works with subjects that include people, places, still life, and horses.

New Mexico masters Miguel Martinez and Malcolm Furlow are the highlights at Michael McCormick Gallery (106-C Paseo del Pueblo Norte), only a couple of doors away from Walden Fine Art (106-A Paseo del Pueblo Norte), while contemporary realism and abstraction prevail at the excellent Parks Gallery (127-A Bent St.).

Early Abstract Expressionists inspire Shaun Richel, co-owner and artist at 203 Fine Art.
Photo: 203 Fine Art

Richard Diebenkorn in New Mexico 1950-1952 continues through Sept. 10, 2007, at The Harwood Museum of Art. The artist gifted this untitled 1951 oil on canvas to the University of New Mexico Art Museum in Albuquerque.
Photo: Harwood Museum of Art