Art in Santa Fe
One of the things I thought we would do when we moved to Santa Fe was buy art. We have a home with large windows and tall ceilings and a stone courtyard, perfect to display local artists' paintings and sculptures, maybe some great pottery pieces and textiles too. I was pretty excited to be in a place where I could find beautiful things for my home.
And even if we didn't buy much art I thought we would immerse ourselves in the art culture for entertainment, going to the frequent exhibitions and art shows in the city and spending weekends gallery hopping in Madrid and Galisteo and afar.
We don't do any of that.
First, we cannot afford anything that I would like to put in my home.
We are advised that all we need to do is find inexpensive, undiscovered, unsponsored new young artists' work and buy that cheaply. But I haven't found anything like that anywhere, I don't know where to look for that, and apparently don't really have the interest to go hunting.
We're told "buy what you like. It doesn't have to be the high end stuff". But the high end stuff is what I like. I'm not into primitive prints or first draft sketches or experimental new stuff that I don't "get".
So we aren't decorating our home with Santa Fe art (tchotchkes, yes, I bought a metal pig for the patio and a woven table runner, that kind of thing). For a while we did go to galleries just to look, and that was fun at first. But it's pretty overwhelming -- there is so much, and so much of it doesn't appeal or seems waaaay pretentious, and after a few excursions, we lost interest.
But on occasion we do go to the several museums around the plaza for an afternoon out.
An exhibit this winter at the New Mexico Museum of Art: Five Artist Communities -- was great and I really enjoyed learning about the history of the early Santa Fe artists and their impact on the city. Seeing their work and learning about it was fascinating.
Another exhibit on "nocturnes", or paintings showing scenes after dark, was moodily entrancing.
Jim loves the small sculpture garden outside the museum, especially the fluid, almost-alive bronze statue of a seated woman in a blanket looking over her shoulder.
We go at times just to sit in the sculpture courtyard so he can visit her. Despite his clear interest, she always looks away.
It's the history and learning about the art that I like, curated into themes and explained. I'm not really into the essence of a work, and it turns out I'm not really into furnishing my house with collections or individual finds. I would love to have an art filled home, but I'm not motivated to search out what I can afford.
We live in an art infused city and I buy chile wreaths from the farmer's market or metal pigs and table runners from the Mexican import store for home decor. Not what I thought I'd be doing here!
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| I like this local Santa Fe artist - Aleta Pippin Her paintings are between $9,500 and $18,000. This rich oil abstract is perfect for my living room, no? |
And even if we didn't buy much art I thought we would immerse ourselves in the art culture for entertainment, going to the frequent exhibitions and art shows in the city and spending weekends gallery hopping in Madrid and Galisteo and afar.
We don't do any of that.
First, we cannot afford anything that I would like to put in my home.
 |
| We might be able to afford something like this? |
We are advised that all we need to do is find inexpensive, undiscovered, unsponsored new young artists' work and buy that cheaply. But I haven't found anything like that anywhere, I don't know where to look for that, and apparently don't really have the interest to go hunting.
We're told "buy what you like. It doesn't have to be the high end stuff". But the high end stuff is what I like. I'm not into primitive prints or first draft sketches or experimental new stuff that I don't "get".
 |
| This local sculptor goes by one name - Guilloume. This piece is interesting, melding Spanish motifs and native, called "Becoming One". Prices are upwards of $5,000 for his work. |
So we aren't decorating our home with Santa Fe art (tchotchkes, yes, I bought a metal pig for the patio and a woven table runner, that kind of thing). For a while we did go to galleries just to look, and that was fun at first. But it's pretty overwhelming -- there is so much, and so much of it doesn't appeal or seems waaaay pretentious, and after a few excursions, we lost interest.
But on occasion we do go to the several museums around the plaza for an afternoon out.
 |
| New Mexico Museum of Art downtown |
An exhibit this winter at the New Mexico Museum of Art: Five Artist Communities -- was great and I really enjoyed learning about the history of the early Santa Fe artists and their impact on the city. Seeing their work and learning about it was fascinating.
 |
| Paul Lantz, Snow in Santa Fe, circa 1935, oil on Masonite, 30 x 48 in. On long term loan to the New Mexico Museum of Art |
Another exhibit on "nocturnes", or paintings showing scenes after dark, was moodily entrancing.
 |
| Gene Kloss, Christmas Eve, Taos Pueblo (detail), 1936, aquatint and drypoint, 11 1/2 x 14 1/2 in. On long term loan to the New Mexico Museum of Art |
Jim loves the small sculpture garden outside the museum, especially the fluid, almost-alive bronze statue of a seated woman in a blanket looking over her shoulder.
We go at times just to sit in the sculpture courtyard so he can visit her. Despite his clear interest, she always looks away.
It's the history and learning about the art that I like, curated into themes and explained. I'm not really into the essence of a work, and it turns out I'm not really into furnishing my house with collections or individual finds. I would love to have an art filled home, but I'm not motivated to search out what I can afford.
We live in an art infused city and I buy chile wreaths from the farmer's market or metal pigs and table runners from the Mexican import store for home decor. Not what I thought I'd be doing here!
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