Gaze ‘Through the Eyes of Fechin’
The home of a renaissance man
By Tamra Testerman
After an invigorating morning on the slopes of the Taos Ski Valley, or a high alpine hike, the day may call for some indoor culture, and good local food conveniently close to your destination. Taos is home to many galleries, museums and historic sites, all within an easy drive from the center of town.
A favorite for visitors from around the world is Taos Art Museum at Fechin House, 227 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte. The Fechin House, built by Russian artist Nicolai Fechin (1881-1955) is said to be his love for his family made manifest in art. The 4,000 square-foot, asymmetrical adobe Pueblo and Mission Revival house, with 24-inch walls, is a breathtaking example of Southwest architecture and is an epochal landmark in the architectural landscape of Taos. Fechin’s mastery of metalwork, sculpture, wood carving, painting and drawing is never more clear than in the house that Fechin built.
The current exhibition, “Through the Eyes of Fechin” features paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs from private collections not exhibited before in the same space.
TJ Mabrey
The City of Albuquerque acquires Taos artist TJ Mabrey sculpture for the Public Art Collection
The story behind TJ Mabrey’s sculpture, “Three Sisters,” is complicated. It’s related to agriculture; and it speaks to survival from agriculture – for both the human race and our home, the Earth. Continue reading “TJ Mabrey”
Crown Jewels
Taos museums survive and thrive in 2021
By Dena Miller
Notable exhibitions and big dreams are in the works for Taos museums: Couse-Sharp Historic Site; Harwood Museum of Art; Millicent Rogers Museum; Taos Art Museum at Fechin House; and Taos Historic Museums. Continue reading “Crown Jewels”
A Call to Passion
While Taos has been welcoming a wave of new home owners, the art community has likewise opened its arms to four new galleries in town.
by dena miller
Toby Putnam – via Montana – opened his gallery LUN + ojo (111 Paseo del Pueblo Norte) in December 2020, and now, he’s “doing exactly what I want to do.” Under the watchful eyes of a taxidermy bison head (“Hunted by bow and arrow 40 years ago”), Putnam and his canine buddy, Buck, welcome you to what he affectionately refers to as “curated chaos.”
Arts Alive
Angel Fire art and businesses are back
By Jacqui Binford-Bell
Arts in Angel Fire and the Moreno Valley may not be as easy to find now as they once were. There used to be two galleries: The Rupp Gallery and Arts Space Gallery. But as respective owners Carol Rupp and Katherine McDermott discovered, you can either create art or sell it.
Elusive Time
The journey to Taos for artists Lucy and Dirk Herrman always seemed to them a foregone conclusion.
By Dena Miller
“It was just an intuitive thing, that somehow I just knew we would live in New Mexico,” Lucy said, and Dirk concurred. “We moved a lot but on our first visit here we knew this was going to be ‘home.’ It was an immediate, powerful draw.”
At the Harwood
One venue the pandemic has been unable to dim is the Harwood Museum of Art. Even when you cannot visit in person, executive director Juniper Leherissey Manley and staff have continued to curate first-rate exhibitions that shine like beacons in these difficult times.
By Dena Miller
Summer 2021 will be no exception. In addition to extending its popular juried exhibit of local talent — Contemporary Art/Taos 2020 — the Harwood welcomes summer season with two new shows — one, a journey into an ephemeral, atmospheric otherworld; the other — solidly, down-home Northern New Mexico.
