Albuquerque had a small but quite interesting art museum, across the street from the museum of natural history, and next to that tourist trap known as “old town.” Imagine SF’s Fisherman’s Wharf with native American pottery and Route 66 mugs. Albuquerque also has the National Atomic Museum, which I was fascinated by, unfortunately my timing was bad and I didn’t get there.
The exhibit that really spoke to me at the Albuquerque Art Museum was the Albuquerque Now – Winter show (1/24-4/18) which featured contemporary artists with an Albuquerque connection. Mary Tsiongas’s piece Vanish consisted of a monitor (32”?) in an ornate gold frame (at the left), showing an idealized river valley (by Bierstadt) with a small herd of deer and mountains in the background. The artist walks into the scene, stretches and waves her arms above her head. In response, the background quickly fades out, and then gradually reappears as the artist looks on. She looks back at the viewer, as if saying “if we would stop interfering, nature would recover.” I thought it was subtle and lovely.
Also on display was a famous news photo of then President G.W. Bush meeting with President-elect Obama in oval office at the White House by Eric Draper. Seeing a large, clear print of this photo for the first time, I was mesmerized by the symmetry of it. Another piece I really enjoyed was a large surreal oil painting by Scott Greene called Ship Shape (2010, Oil on canvas over panel). In what I assume was meant as commentary on the state of world, a galleon bearing symbols of Western consumerism sails wildly off the edge of a waterfall.
I had one afternoon in Santa Fe, hardly time to do it justice. Santa Fe has made a big investment in the arts, and walking though the snow from the train station to the central plaza, galleries and studios were everywhere. Near the central plaza was the beautiful St. Francis Cathedral, where we watched as 29 couples of all ages marched down the aisle toward marriage (apparently the thing to do on Valentine’s weekend…). Across the street from the St. Francis was the Institute of American Indian Arts. The main galleries of the IAIA were closed for roof repairs, but their museum store filled with art, jewelry and pottery by local artists was worth a look.
About three blocks from the plaza in a small adobe style building was the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum (her former home, outside Santa Fe at Abiqui, has been converted into a museum and research center). The museum’s permanent collection had on display many intriguing works by O’Keeffe that I had never seen in person before. For example, they had many of her works in pastel (such as Pederal, 1945, Water Lily, 1921 and The Black Place, 1945). I was struck by the way the pastel forced her to adapt from her normally smooth, blended style to layers of color with a more illustrative quality. Also interesting were The Cottonwoods (1956), a pair of undulating forest scenes reminiscent of Cezanne’s. In the largest room, I was captivated by three contrasting works placed next to each other at the end of the gallery; A Street, 1926, flanked by The Beyond, 1972 and Apple Family 2, 1923. A Street was the only “urban” painting on display, a view down the middle of street with non-descript grey and brown buildings rising in steep verticals on both sides of the canvas. The contrast between the muted pallete and vertical of A Street with the calm horizon painted in rich blues and greys (The Beyond, one of her last unassisted works), and the lively reds in a still life of apples (Apple Family 2) was quite striking.
Also on view at the O’Keeffe were works by the contemporary painter Susan Rothenberg. Known for her abstract horse paintings (such as Cabin Fever,1976, shown on the left), it was interesting to see a wider range of her work. In one series of paintings, she depicts over head views of situations in nature she came upon while riding her horse. Dogs Killing Rabbit, a monumental oil painting from 1991, makes use of wild brush strokes and surface texture to capture the violence of the moment. She is also able to harness and internalize this energy for more meditative pieces, such as her Folded Buddha (1987-88).
After a day full of galleries and window shopping, we were very happy to discover the Margaritas at the Del Charro Saloon (corner of W. Alameda & Don Gaspar). We got on a nice buzz at this warm and friendly place, and it greatly enhanced the train ride back to Albuquerque.
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