Taos Art News
56 Taos Artists on Exhibit in Denver
The Metropolitan State College of Denver, Center for Visual Art proudly presents Taos Contemporary, an exhibition featuring 56 artists living and working in Taos County.
Throughout the twentieth century, Taos figured prominently as an important contemporary art colony. Far away from other innovative art centers, Taos held sway in the imagination, and its very name is still synonymous with an independent aesthetic sensibility. Keeping this tradition alive — taking it into the now — makes Taos unique. While other towns and cities have vital art scenes, no other area has such a high concentration of creative individuals, many of whom deliberately chose Taos for its artistic, cultural, and geographical resonance. Certainly New York City is the undisputed art capital, but artists flock there to be near the heart of the industry and among its tastemakers. Preferring to be off the grid, artists settle in Taos for the space in which to pursue their muse apart from such distractions and to draw inspiration from its landscape, light, and spirituality — at once grounding and transcendent.
Contemporary Taos offers a view of the current art colony as represented by a variety of artists who call Taos County home. These artists are engaged with current issues and processes of art-making in a way that suggests Taos remains relevant. Yet these artists tap into the energy of place as well as a supportive environment in a way that gives the New Mexico community its own center of gravity. Looking within and beyond local galleries, the Denver curators hope to shed light on both well-established and lesser-known artists in an intriguing, pleasurable mix of genre and styles.
Artists: Larry Bell, Suzanne Betz, Jonathan Blaustein, Jane Ellen Burke, Kevin Cannon, Peter Chinni, Michelle Cooke, Ron Cooper, Ron Davis, Issa de Nicola, Tom Dixon, Nina Elder, Gus Foster, Alyce Frank, Victor Goler, Alan Heuer, Gendron Jensen, Tony Jojola, Jivan Lee, Lee Lee, Sandra Lerner, Annell Livingston, Debbie Long, Ira Lujan, Jennifer Lynch, Kit Lynch, J Mehaffey, Jane Mingenbach, Greg Moon, Tom Noble, Christine Taylor Patten, Paul Pascarella, Susan Pasquarelli, Ken Price, Deborah Rael-Buckley, Amy Rankin, Cody Riddle, Anita Rodriguez, Johnnie Winona Ross, George Schaub, Jan Sessler, Mary Shaffer, Jack Richard Smith, Christina Sporrong, Jane Kammerer Starks, William Stewart, Charles Strong, Mimi Chen Ting, Enrico Trujillo, Delinda VanneBrightyn, Jim Wagner, Jonathan Warm Day, Teruko Wilde, Barbara Zaring, David Zimmerman, Zoe Zimmerman
TAOS CONTEMPORARY
May 31 – August 11, 2012
Opening Reception May 31
6-8pm - Members and Special Guests
7-9pm - Public Reception
Taos Contemporary was curated by Stephanie Grilli and Cecily Cullen.
Stephanie Grilli has a Ph.D in art history from Yale University, and she taught at the university level for eighteen years. As a freelance writer (artscribe.net), she has published articles about artists working and/or exhibiting in Taos, a place that holds special interest for her.
Cecily Cullen is the assistant director and curator at the Center for Visual Art where she has curated exhibitions such as Currents: Native American Forces in Contemporary Art, MIX: The CVA on Santa Fe, and Altered Nature: Notable Interpretations from South America.
The Center for Visual Art is located at 965 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, Colorado 80204.
Open Tuesday – Friday 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday 12 – 5 p.m.
Telephone: 303.294.5207
Admission is free.
Pictured, work by Larry Bell (top) and Annell Livingston
