‘Viajeros’ mid-fire clay figurines created by Hebe Garcia. Courtesy/FLAC
‘Winter Solstice’ at Black Mesa, 30×24” oil on canvas by Diane Stoffel. Courtesy/FLAC
ART News:
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” –Mark Twain
“Peregrino” means “traveler” in Spanish. Fuller Lodge Art Center’s first juried exhibition of the 2020 season focuses on the journey.
Whether a trip abroad to see famed landmarks close up, a perspective altering journey of self-discovery or a pilgrim’s prayerful walk to a sacred place; the art of “Peregrino” challenges the odyssey. Oil and acrylic painting, mixed media, clay, wood, fiber art, jewelry and photography span the vast distances of media employed by more than 35 regional artists and several out-of-state artists.
The Peregrino exhibition will do some traveling once the show closes April 4 in Los Alamos. Fuller Lodge Art Center Director Ken Nebel has arranged with a Chicago area art gallery to exhibit the art from Peregrino in the early summer. In turn, art exhibited there will travel to Los Alamos and be shown at Mesa Public Library’s upstairs gallery in July.
Black Mesa is an old friend to most Los Alamosans, especially to those who work in Los Alamos but live in the valley. Those commuters get to see the mesa every day, in all kinds of weather (actually it’s technically a butte, not a mesa). Local artist, Diane Stoffel, lives in La Mesilla on the east side of the Rio Grande and commutes to Los Alamos for her job as exhibits coordinator at Fuller Lodge Arts Center and the gallery at Mesa Public Library. More than a year ago, Stoffel started painting plein air oil paintings of Black Mesa since she had a great view from her back yard. The idea for a show at the Portal Gallery grew from that daily intimacy with the mesa.
Black Mesa is the subject of ever-changing light and shadow, color and intensity, shifting with atmospheric conditions and the arc of the sun. Each season brings a different palette of colors to its form and surroundings. Through a combination of plein air and studio paintings, Stoffel captures Black Mesa’s enigmatic role as a sentinel over the Rio Grande Valley and its home within San Ildefonso lands in all its seasonal majesty.
Journey through the gallery 5-7 p.m. Friday, March 6 for Peregrino’s Opening Reception and take in the sights at Portal Gallery’s “Black Mesa Majesty” as well. The shows run through April 4 at Fuller Lodge Art Center, 2132 Central Ave. Regular hours at Fuller Lodge Art Center are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
For more information, click here.