Opening Reception Thursday May 17, 4-6:00pm at The Historic Taos Inn

Asmus paints in a representational style. He works in oils with a palette knife on birch panel, giving his images a painterly, colorful, impasto finish. His subject matter ranges from contemporary Taos scenes of people at work and play to imagined Taos historical scenes. Many of the paintings include animals interacting with people and places. Asmus’ desire to document historical and iconic architecture, especially the many churches and capillas which dot the landscape, should also be noted. The Taos Pueblo is a favorite subject for Asmus. Without painting from photographs, he can replicate from memory the wonder and splendor of the many ceremonies he’s attended over the years. Asmus’ paintings show a deep love for Northern New Mexico and its people and Taos in particular, all of which he wants to share with his viewers.

In one painting, a dog waits expectantly in the grass for his master and mistress, hoping the recess bell outside a two-room rural schoolhouse will ring very soon. Another painting depicts a small adobe chapel in the mountains near the town of Taos welcoming Christmas Eve worshipers on a moonlit night. Asmus imagines horseback riders from the Picuris Pueblo as they wend their way home in the snow along the rim of the beautiful and mysterious Rio Grande gorge. Asmus’ populated landscapes invite the viewer to linger and interpret the story in his or her own terms aided, perhaps, by the stories Asmus provides for most of his paintings as his inspiration.

The humor in Asmus’ paintings is most obvious in his Police Blotter paintings. Taken from the Taos News, Asmus embeds the caption on the panel, paints his version of its meaning, and then completes the concept with an insightful title. For example, a Police Blotter caption reads, “Caller reported there were some bulls walking down Solomon Lane. The caller guided the cattle back in the fence and mended it.” Asmus places the scene at the Taos Library. Recreating the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, a bull charges past a matador with his red cape. Following are more bulls and a host of participants in a chaotic scene. The Blotter is aptly titled, “Mayhem.” Another, captioned, “Notaburger,” reads: “Caller reported people in the Lotaburger parking lot were throwing rocks at crows; they claimed that a crow had attacked them.” Again, Asmus colorfully and literally recreates a chaotic scene. The Taos Inn library will be devoted entirely to the Police Blotter paintings.

The exhibition title Color + Color = Color is apropos to the works of art featured by two accomplished artists who have created one exhibition, an exhibition that speaks to the language of color. Livingston and Estes have lived and worked together for over 20 years and this is the first time they have exhibited their work together. Although they both have distinct styles their work is complimentary as they both explore and play with color. Their use of color is inspired by colors found in nature and orchestrated with a sound knowledge of color theory.

Estes’s Enso Series is based on the use of the enso. A circle painted in one or two uninhibited strokes, the enso is hard-edged against his flat color backgrounds. The circle is thought to express the totality of our being. It is perhaps the most common subject of Zen Calligraphy. It symbolizes enlightenment, power, and the universe itself.

Estes and Livingston have grown together as artists. Working independently in the same studio they spend time in the late afternoon sharing and critiquing the work accomplished that day….it is their own private salon. Art is their vocation.

Livingston says, “In my work, Fragments, Geometry and Change, the compositions are based on geometry. I break the picture plan into many small pieces, which is a metaphor for my life experience. For me, nothing is experienced or remembered as a whole, but instead, in fragments. And with the change of color, value, or intensity, I am creating different patterns though out the work.” In some of her works there can be as many as 164 color changes. Annell says the execution of the work is actually painting straight lines. Thought I use a ruler to create the grid, the straight lines are painted by hand and there are 15, 552 straight lines. Even though the work is made up of straight lines, there is sometimes a perception of rounded edges.

Estes notes “In my Enso Series, I have used an idea of Matisse’s, where the “lightest lights are found in the darkest darks.” Each painting is an investigation of Itten’s color theory, how colors compliment and harmonize with each other. The compositions are created using a process of manipulated chance.”
 

Sketchbook # 30 is representative of the way C Marquez approaches the art experience.The sketchbooks are notations that culminate in the sculptures that honor vulnerability, impermanence and cycles of life on our planet. Pigments and pastes used in the artist’s sketchbooks are made from daily existence: carbon, rust, coffee, berries, sage, tumbleweeds and wheat.

Marquez says, “Drawing practice is the backbone of my sculpture and a place to abstractly interpret visual and sensual expressions of my engagement with my physical and emotional surroundings.The work is grounded in continuous research and supported by detailed documentation of the processes.”

An off and on resident of Taos for eight years, Marquez recently completed an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

The Taos Book Arts group is open to anyone interested in book arts and meets the third Tuesday of each month at 3 p.m. at the Millicent Rogers Museum.

Auditions will be held for the Missoula Children's Theatre production of The Snow Queen at the Taos Community Auditorium. Students ages 6 through 17 are encouraged to audition -- no advance preparation or experience is necessary.

Those auditioning should arrive at 9:30am and plan to stay for the full 2.5 hours. Some of the cast members will be asked to stay for a rehearsal immediately following the audition.

Among the available roles are the Snow Queen, Gerda, Gerda's Grandma, Gerda's best friend Kay, Bae the Reindeer, Yeti, the Little Robber, the Prince and Princess, Hobgoblins, Snow Animals and Snow Chickens. Assistant Directors will also be selected to aid in rehearsals throughout the week, and to take on important backstage responsibilities.

The Snow Queen will be presented on Saturday, July 28th on the TCA BIG Stage. Rehearsals will be Monday through Friday, 10am to 2:15pm each day.

For more information, please call (575)758-2052.

July 22-25
Sun 2pm, Mon-Wed 7pm
Director: Eugene Jarecki, USA, Runtime 1 hr 47mins, Rated R, Documentary, 2018
Stars: Alec Baldwin, Tony Brown, James Carville,

Forty years after the death of Elvis Presley, a musical road trip across America in his 1963 Rolls Royce explores how a country boy lost his authenticity and became a king while his country lost her democracy and became an empire.

Tickets are $8.50 general admission, $7.00 for TCA Members and $5.00 for youth 17 and under.

Thank You to our TCA Sponsors:
Arjuna Capital, BeyondTaos Art Calendar, Casa Gallina, Chevron Mining, Cid's Food Market, DeStefano Law Firm, Diane Enright - Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Taos Real Estate, El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa, Five Star Burgers, The Gorge Bar and Grill, Green Builders, High Country Real Estate, John Dunn House, KNCE, Knight Financial, Lambert's, Martyrs Steakhouse, Metric Motors, New Mexico Arts, Northern New Mexico Center for Cosmetic Dentistry (Kellie Harris), Nusenda Credit Union, Phoenix Mechanical, Pieces, Private Label Select, Rio Grande Ace Hardware, Rivera-Hanlon Funeral Home, Salon Marjorie, Siriusware, Straight Teeth Ltd., Taos Community Foundation, Taos Inn, Taos Lifestyle featuring Sleep Sanctuary, TaosNet, Taos Opera Guild, Taos Roasters, Wolfgang's Spa Works.
 

July 22-25
Sun 2pm, Mon-Wed 7pm
Director: Eugene Jarecki, USA, Runtime 1 hr 47mins, Rated R, Documentary, 2018
Stars: Alec Baldwin, Tony Brown, James Carville,

Forty years after the death of Elvis Presley, a musical road trip across America in his 1963 Rolls Royce explores how a country boy lost his authenticity and became a king while his country lost her democracy and became an empire.

Tickets are $8.50 general admission, $7.00 for TCA Members and $5.00 for youth 17 and under.

Thank You to our TCA Sponsors:
Arjuna Capital, BeyondTaos Art Calendar, Casa Gallina, Chevron Mining, Cid's Food Market, DeStefano Law Firm, Diane Enright - Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Taos Real Estate, El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa, Five Star Burgers, The Gorge Bar and Grill, Green Builders, High Country Real Estate, John Dunn House, KNCE, Knight Financial, Lambert's, Martyrs Steakhouse, Metric Motors, New Mexico Arts, Northern New Mexico Center for Cosmetic Dentistry (Kellie Harris), Nusenda Credit Union, Phoenix Mechanical, Pieces, Private Label Select, Rio Grande Ace Hardware, Rivera-Hanlon Funeral Home, Salon Marjorie, Siriusware, Straight Teeth Ltd., Taos Community Foundation, Taos Inn, Taos Lifestyle featuring Sleep Sanctuary, TaosNet, Taos Opera Guild, Taos Roasters, Wolfgang's Spa Works.
 

July 22-25
Sun 2pm, Mon-Wed 7pm
Director: Eugene Jarecki, USA, Runtime 1 hr 47mins, Rated R, Documentary, 2018
Stars: Alec Baldwin, Tony Brown, James Carville,

Forty years after the death of Elvis Presley, a musical road trip across America in his 1963 Rolls Royce explores how a country boy lost his authenticity and became a king while his country lost her democracy and became an empire.

Tickets are $8.50 general admission, $7.00 for TCA Members and $5.00 for youth 17 and under.

Thank You to our TCA Sponsors:
Arjuna Capital, BeyondTaos Art Calendar, Casa Gallina, Chevron Mining, Cid's Food Market, DeStefano Law Firm, Diane Enright - Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Taos Real Estate, El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa, Five Star Burgers, The Gorge Bar and Grill, Green Builders, High Country Real Estate, John Dunn House, KNCE, Knight Financial, Lambert's, Martyrs Steakhouse, Metric Motors, New Mexico Arts, Northern New Mexico Center for Cosmetic Dentistry (Kellie Harris), Nusenda Credit Union, Phoenix Mechanical, Pieces, Private Label Select, Rio Grande Ace Hardware, Rivera-Hanlon Funeral Home, Salon Marjorie, Siriusware, Straight Teeth Ltd., Taos Community Foundation, Taos Inn, Taos Lifestyle featuring Sleep Sanctuary, TaosNet, Taos Opera Guild, Taos Roasters, Wolfgang's Spa Works.
 

Brentano Quartet & Thomas Sauer will perform:
Purcell: Didos Lament
Haydn: Eli, Eli
Shostakovich: Elegy for String Quartet
Gesualdo: Madrigals
Carter: Elegy for String Quartet
Lekeu: Molto Adagio
Franck: Piano Quintet Op. 45

Tickets are available at Mud n' Flood or by clicking here

Program to be announced

Taos Watercolor Society annual Stables Exhibit, featuring the works of it members.

Preview the exciting work of artists participating in the 2018 Labor Day Weekend Open Studio Tour. The tour and this show feature the work of both established and emerging artists in a variety of techniques and medium, including painting, sculpture, glass, photography, jewelry and quilting.

Recent paintings by Susan Barnett

Reception for the artist on Thursday September 6, 4-6:00pm

Work by David Gary Suazo of Taos Pueblo hangs throughout the Inn's public area.

Reception for the artist on Thursday, September 20, 4-6:00pm.

Soprano Anna Netrebko sings her first Met Aida, with mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili as her formidable rival Amneris. Aleksandrs Antonenko is the warrior Radames, and Nicola Luisotti takes the podium for the Met's monumental production.

Runtime is 3hrs 56 minutes.

Tickets are $20 for TCA members, $25 for general admission and free for youth 17 and under (thanks to Taos Opera Institute) and may be purchased by calling (575)758-2052 MOnday through Friday, 9am to 5pm or at the TCA office during those hours.

Opening reception - Thursday October 11 from 4:00 to 6:00pm
Artist talk is Thursday, Oct 25 at 4pm.

Dreaming the Land exhibition features recent abstract oil paintings and works on paper by William Stewart and Brian Shields.Their work inspired by the landscape they each embrace allows one to experience intimate permeations of landscape in lyric conversation via complimentary abstract expressions.

Shields has been in the Taos area since 1969, Stewart since 1983. Together they have 80 cumulative years of painting the Taos landscape – both as plein air landscape painters and currently as abstract artists with cheerfully distinct sensibilities. Both artists spend periods of time painting in foreign landscapes – Stewart returns to Oaxaca where he first traveled in the 70s and now maintains a studio, Shields returns annually to his homeland in Cataluña, Spain.

When young and part of the 60’s -70’s avante garde scene in New York City, Stewart showed at O.K. Harris Gallery – one of the first SoHo galleries – and went on to exhibit at the Rudolph Zwirner Gallery in Koln, Germany, and at the Paris Biennale. He left NYC in the mid 70’s in search of connection with the landscape and began painting from nature. He traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico, where he lived for four years before moving to Taos in 1983. Excited by the beauty of the landscape of Northern New Mexico, he painted plein air for many years. Stewart has also taught at UNM-Taos, since it’s beginnings in 1993. “My recent abstract work is rooted in nature, the landscape of Oaxaca , the Taos valley, my garden, and travels to the sea. Dreaming the Land will feature oil paintings, watercolors and lithographs painted last winter that I call the Oaxaca Series.” For a review of Stewarts’ recent abstracts see: https://hamptonsarthub.com/2017/05/15/reviews-art-review-william-stewart-commits-to-abstraction-in-watermill-center-show/ and
https://www.instagram.com/wsoaxaca/

Shields’ formative years were spent in Barcelona, Paris, New York City, and San Francisco. He came to the Taos area to teach art, and with characteristic passion became intimately familiar with the wildest places in the Southern Rocky Mountains, both as a mountain and river guide and as an environmental advocate. Shields says of his art practice: “I paint what I have absorbed, what has become a part of me. The imagery that is revealed comes from my love for and interactions with landscape, with the sea, with life. The act of painting is a process of emotional and intellectual ardor, sometimes resulting in upheaval, but more often than not waking me up to a grateful co-existence with the unknown.” See: http://www.brianshieldsart.com.

New paintings by J. Matthew Thomas

Reception for the artist on Thursday, December 13, 4-6:00pm.

Artwork by Laurie Celine Balliett hangs throughout the Inn's public areas.

Reception for the artist on Thursday, January 31, 4-6:00pm