Abstract ideas: Taos collective features over 70 artists in third annual fall show

A rising influence in the arts community, the Taos Abstract Artists Collective is opening its third annual fall show at the Taos Center for the Arts.

Slated for Friday, Oct. 11, through Saturday, Oct. 19, at the Stables Gallery, the exhibition features works from more than 70 artists geographically spanning New Mexico from Taos to Albuquerque.

Abstract ideas: Taos collective features over 70 artists in third annual fall show

“This year we capped the number of admissions to 140 to make sure we have enough hanging space,” said Lauren Dana Smith, co-founder and board member.

The exhibitions, showcasing art ranging from painting and sculpture to mixed-media, ceramics and installations, have solidified the group’s reputation, as well as fueled partnerships with the Harwood Museum, the Couse-Sharp Historic Site and the Millicent Rogers Museum.

“We want the artists to experiment with different media, so we keep it very open,” Smith said.

At least half the artists are new to the collective, she added. Many of them are from Albuquerque.

Albuquerque artist Amanda Jackson Miller used crochet and knitting to create her untitled textile piece expressing themes of motherhood. She used dynamic primary colors in wool and silk. Her work mostly consists of textile, fiber arts and photography.

Her art explores the push and pull she has felt in motherhood, in being a wife, and in pursuing her own creative work while balancing it all.

Dixon sculpture artist Brian Barreto’s “Semana” was created using Colorado Yule marble. Yule marble is a marble of metamorphosed Leadville limestone found only in the Yule Creek Valley.

“He works in both abstraction and representationalism,” Smith said. “The three pieces of marble form an abstract triptych. His work has this gravitas to it, with references to landscapes and gender identity.”

Drawn to unforgiving materials, Barreto has worked with glass, ceramics, performance and sound, but stone — marble in particular — has always been the challenger, wrecker of his wrists and his first love.

Albuquerque artist Nancy JonesFrancis uses color in an unscripted way in her acrylic painting “Cyclops.”

A onetime newspaper page designer, she discovered a love for minimalist design in all things.

“Through my artwork, I aim to achieve an otherworldly state of mind, to not be aware of the world around me during the process,” she wrote in an artist’s statement.

Taos Pueblo artist Bernice Suazo Naranjo is known for her traditional pottery, but she is also a prolific painter. Her “String Theory of Women” carries the symbolism of nature and of her own metaphysical world. The mixed-media piece features metallic paint and ink on paper.

Suazo Naranjo also is known for her elegant and finely detailed sgraffito carving on a dramatic sienna finish.

She taught art special education classes for nearly 19 years in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Mora.

By the end of this year, the TAAC will have exhibited more than 300 abstract artists living and/or working throughout New Mexico. Many artists have asked to include text with their work, a concept that will surface in future shows, Smith said.

“We encourage our artists to stretch,” she said.