Cosmic connections: Lapis Room group show explores spirituality through 'Celestial Beings'

With world affairs continuing to remain chaotic, the curators behind Lapis Room decided to tone it down with its last group show of the year.

“We haven’t had a spiritual show,” said Meg Grgurich, Lapis Room deputy director. “We were brewing on that idea last spring and brainstorming ideas.”

Cosmic connections: Lapis Room group show explores spirituality through 'Celestial Beings'

The crew at Lapis Room spent months letting the ideas grow and when it came to cultivating, it fell together organically.

The result is “Celestial Beings: Pointing to the Cosmos,” which runs daily through Jan. 19, 2025. There will be an opening reception from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12, at Lapis Room.

Lapis Room sells a lot of zodiac-based merchandise in the gift shop, Grgurich said.

“People really relate to that,” she said. “We have this birthday book that tells you a zodiac reading of the day and the idea took off.”

Artists make pieces of work that are so personal and have a specific story for them, Grgurich said.

“Once you hang it on the wall, it takes on another meaning,” she said. “We thought it would be interesting for people to put their own spirituality into what they are seeing in the art. We have a lot of artists that do very spiritual work and we keep a balance of genders. This group show is having a heavy female moment.”

There are 10 artists participating in the group show. They are: Margarita Paz-Pedro, Thomas Christopher Haag, Eric Romero, Selina Baca (Desert Goddess Jewelry), Aquilla Kappy, Charlotte Driver, Ophelia Cornet, Aaron Richardson, Henri Preiss and Roe LiBretto.

Paz-Pedro is creating an installation with adobe, which will feature her ceramics, Grgurich said.

Paz-Pedro is known for her wheel-thrown functional ceramics, hand-carved porcelain jewelry and large-scale handmade ceramic tile murals.

“I draw my ideas from how time, place, material and culture intersect with my Mexican American, Laguna Pueblo and Santa Clara Pueblo background within New Mexico and beyond,” Paz-Pedro said. “Within the medium of ceramics, its vastness allows for many avenues to be traveled. … My work is heavily embedded in materiality of clay, processed and arranged in relation to place and land. Within a position of gratitude and our interconnectedness, meaning is made through my exploration of identity, history, built structures and experiences.”

Driver is also a ceramic artist and Baca is a jeweler, Grgurich said.

“This show contains a mixture of mediums,” Grgurich added.

Lapis Room used Cornet’s “Invoke” as the promo art for the show because her pieces highlight the experience of being a woman, Grgurich said.

It’s Cornet’s first time showing at Lapis Room.

“She’s a mixed-media artist, and hires models and photographs them,” Grgurich explained. “She then does a plaster overlay and does some fresco painting into the plaster and will add collages from other photographs. They are intricate and interesting.”

Lapis Room continues to evolve and is getting better with planning — which takes about six months to a year from concept to execution, Grgurich said.

“We work collaboratively and we’ll put a list of people together and will be fluid for a while,” she explained. “Along the way, we’ll come across a new artist who fits well with the theme. It’s a fun way to get some fresh artists in the gallery. Having a group show also helps change the perspective of how you see a certain artist’s work.”

“Celestial Beings” feels like a very optimistic show, Grgurich said.

“The show feels joyful, welcoming, calm and soothing,” she said. “I feel like it’s the right moment for the show.”