Nomadik Harvest in New Mexico

By Amy White

When Nicole Dextras brought her Nomadik Harvest dress to be exhibited in Albuquerque, she faced the challenge of finding edible wild plants in an environment completely new to her. I had the exciting opportunity to be her guide in identifying and obtaining specimens to fill the many colorful pockets of the dress. We spent a marvelous afternoon meandering around Albuquerque snipping bits of this and that, visited Bookworks to buy a field guide, and perused the native plant garden at Plants of the Southwest.

Some people have a great memory for names or numbers, or like Nicole, for images and colors; I am a plant person. I just seem to have a built-in ability to remember names and details about all kinds of plants. Everywhere I go, I'm continually noticing edible wild plants growing along the roadside, along trails, or in neglected corners of the city.

Experimental Ceramic Monoprinting Workshop

In conjunction with the current exhibition at 516 ARTS Flatlanders & Surface Dwellers  and Women & Creativity, guest curator Lea Anderson and participating artist Alex Kraft conducted a special workshop on experimental ceramic monoprinting at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. With a full class of 20 participants, Alex explained the tedious process of transferring drawings to leather-hard clay.

Tools of the trade

Openings: Friday, March 22nd

There are a couple of things going on this evening, so use that extra hour of light to check out some art!

Speak to Me: The Nineteenth Annual Juried Grad Exhibition at the Lower Gallery in the UNM Art Museum 5-7p. This iteration was juried by Julie Joyce, Curator of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

Rachel Cox, Two Turtles

Justin Nolan, Stage

Jenn Hudson, Untitled

Albuquerque-based artist and current UNM graduate student, Lindsey Fromm will be opening Something is Sacred at The Tan (1415 4th St SW). If you've never been to there before, drop by for a visit and see what's in store for the recently opened Tannex aka "the weirdness lair." For a 2 for 1, chances are the neighbors to the north, Small Engine Gallery might have something planned...Always a good time.

If you haven't had the opportunity to see The Magnificent Void at the Inpost Artspace, next week is the last chance! Fred Sturm is celebrating the 150th birthday of Brazilian pianist/composer Ernesto Nazareth with a concert at the Outpost this evening at 7:30p, but if you can't make the performance, see the exhibition during Outpost box office hours (M-F 2-5:30pm) or by appointment.

Stacey Heim, 02 Untitled

Heather Binghman, Five

Celeste LaForme, Wild House - One

Final Days of Gila: A Fundraising Event with Michael Berman

February 16th marks the final day to view/purchase one of Michael Berman's amazing prints from his recent series on the Gila Wilderness. We also have copies of his new book Gila: Radical Visions & The Enduring Silence that would make a wonderful addition to anyone's library. Proceeds from this fundraiser will go to The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and 516 ARTS to ensure they are able to keep doing great things for their communities. Be sure and stop by the gallery today or tomorrow to see these remarkable images before they're gone! Check out some of our favorites below if you need some motivation.

Look closely at this one...

Michelle Blade @ CCA Santa Fe

CCA Santa Fe just recently opened their first exhibition of the new year with a tremendous showing from San Francisco-based artist Michelle Blade. Last year, she made one painting a day for the entirety of the year as a daily meditation on her relationship with painting and the apocalyptic Mayan prophecies surrounding 2012. Her work investigates themes of ritual and prophecy and Making Light of It features the debut of all 366 apocalypse paintings, alongside new sculptural works. I highly recommend a visit to this fantastic exhibition, one of CCA's better offerings in a long while. It's up through February 17.

John Phillip Abbott: Interview & Exhibition Opening

With the onset of the new year, we are excited to announce a new partnership and collaborative effort between 516 ARTS and the Inpost Artspace, so be sure to stay up to date with the exhibitions at Inpost throughout the year!

John Phillip Abbott will open The Happiness Project this Friday, January 4th (5-8p) at the Inpost Artspace (located in the Outpost Performance Space). This will be John's first solo exhibition in Albuquerque and I couldn't think of a better way to ring in the new year than with his not-to-be-missed contribution to Inpost's 2013 exhibition programming schedule. 

In advance of John's exhibition, I had the chance to interview him and ask him about his process.

The Happiness Project

Where are you from? Where did you go to school?

I was born in Wausau, WI but grew up in and around Houston, Texas for the most part. I received a BFA from Western New Mexico University in Silver City, New Mexico and a MFA from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin.

ISEA2012 Collaboration: Dust in the Machine at CCA

Center for Contemporary Arts (CCA) curator Erin Elder put together an nice exhibition in conjunction with ISEA2012. While the exhibition decidedly lacks some of the complex technological components that were common amongst the artists represented at the ISEA2012 main exhibition at 516 ARTS and the Albuquerque Museum of Art & History, Dust in the Machine examines a completely different approach to technology and its role in shaping our vision of the landscape.

Dust in the Machine is on view through November 25th.

San Francisco-based artist Adriane Colburn's impressive Just Below (sewer to bay) installation in the front portion of the Muñoz Waxman Gallery at CCA in Santa Fe. Her delicate, cut paper installation highlights the complexity of San Francisco's contemporary sewage lines as they relate to the historic, natural waterways.