Step Up Gallery News:

“OFF-GRID, Women of the Mesa: Figurative Oil Paintings of Empowered Women” by Beverly Branch opens Thursday, May 23 in Step Up Gallery at Mesa Public Library.

Nearly 40 large oil paintings of women and their families, who choose to live unconnected to the power grid on the mesa west of Pilar and Taos, will be on display until June 25.

Artist Beverly Branch, a compatriot mesa resident, has created a visual story through masterful portraiture and figurative oils on canvas that should not be missed as the first stop for an exhibit moving on to two Taos galleries in July. The paintings will be accompanied by written stories encapsulating the freedom, joy, and hard work of living close to the land without powerlines.

Branch, a graduate of Paier School of Art in Hamden, Conn., was an established artist in Connecticut, exhibiting in numerous galleries in Hartford, Stamford, and Westport. In 2011 she bought her mesa property then moved to Taos in 2013 to begin work on her land.

Over the years, Branch got to know many families who built their own “green” homes on the mesa. Her inspiration for “OFF-GRID, Women of the Mesa” came while chatting with a neighbor at the kitchen table. Branch became impassioned about capturing women’s interconnectedness to the land through her paintings.

Beverly Branch painting in her studio. Courtesy/LAC

The opening reception is 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, May 23. At 6 p.m., Branch will give an Artist’s Talk with Q&A. Refreshments will be served, and admission is free and open to the public.

Step Up Gallery (https://stepupgallery.org) is on the top level of Mesa Public Library at 2400 Central Ave. The gallery is open the same hours as the library: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.  Monday-Thursday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 1-5 p.m.  Sunday.