Painting by Elaine Ritchel. Courtesy photo

ART News:

SANTA FE — The Historic Santa Fe Foundation is pleased to announce Desert Drift, an exhibition of acrylic and watercolor skyscapes by Santa Fe-based painter, educator, and writer Elaine Ritchel. The exhibition will be on view at the gallery at El Zaguán, 545 Canyon Road

Exhibition Statement

Desert Drift explores ephemerality, the subtle thresholds between states of being, and the experience of being held in liminality. The work centers on three elemental subjects—clouds, the moon, and the horizon—that embody both continuity and flux.

“In New Mexico, the horizon is a constant presence,” Ritchel says. “I find it fascinating that although we can always see it, we can never reach it. But in that endless quest, that perpetual drift, we are always accompanied by the sky above and the ground below.”

This body of work emerged from a deeply personal period of transition for the artist. Through soft layering and loose rendering, Ritchel captures a sense of “shimmering ether” and shifting light, allowing her painted clouds to undulate, breathe, and dissipate. The result is a series of images that feel soft, ethereal, and alive, inviting viewers to feel immersed and held by the desert sky’s presence.

About the Artist

Elaine Ritchel is a Santa Fe-based painter, educator, and writer currently serving as an artist-in-residence at El Zaguán. She holds an MA in Art History and has served as a guest educator for institutions including the UNM Art Museum, the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb. In 2015, she founded Santa Fe Art Tours, which has been featured on CNN Travel. Her arts writing appears in Southwest Contemporary and New Mexico Magazine.

Elaine Ritchel in her studio at El Zaguán. Courtesy photo