Visceral connection: Harwood Art Center showcases artists driven by deep cultural and artistic traditions

The Harwood Art Center’s latest show of emerging artists threads material exploration with domesticity.

“Surface: Emerging Artists of New Mexico” is open through July 27. Fourteen out of 50 applicants juried into the program, each winning $250 grants and professional development through invited artists, gallerists and museum professionals.

“We’re looking for distinct vision and commitment to practice and technique,” said Helen Atkins, associate director. “We’re also trying to make it a cohesive show.”

Visceral connection: Harwood Art Center showcases artists driven by deep cultural and artistic traditions

The pieces range from painting to sculpture, mixed-media, digital art and fiber art.

2023 Surface winner and Albuquerque artist Zuyva Sevilla created “Simulated Light Assembly 67” for his awarded solo show.

“He’s playing with light,” Atkins said. “He’s photographing his work as a light piece.”

The digital artist uses light boxes and projection.

“His work is very unique and something we haven’t seen before,” Atkins said.

Andrew Michael Joseph photographed blue and pink blankets strewn across a lawn.

“He’s gesturing toward domesticity,” Atkins said. “He sees his practice as an intersection of identity and how the human body is perceived by society. He normalizes the queer experience.”

Jen Doolittle’s “Passing Through,” a giclée print with silver leaf, emerged during the isolation of the pandemic.

“Her works are very intimate and small,” Atkins said.

Doolittle photographs public spaces that interest her, painting over the figures with metal leaf and thread.

“Her photography is a way to explore memory, emotion and identity,” Atkins said.

Of mixed-race parentage, Doolittle’s work reflects being in the world but not knowing where she belongs.

Santa Fe artist Rosario Glezmir painted “Soothing Waters” using mixed-media on canvas. She recognizes art as an expression of her soul.

“She is playing with these soft, Picasso blue period blues with abstract figures,” Atkins said.

Emily Wright created a playful orange vase decorated with removable ducks in a gesture of childlike whimsy.

“She really brings humor,” Atkins said. “They’re removable; they’re magnetic.”

Shandiin DeGroat’s vibrant, color-splashed “Volcanic Necks & Morning Skies” echoes his Navajo home in Churchrock. He draws his inspiration from skateboard and graffiti culture. Sober one year, art has become his passion.

The collected represent the historic creative thread connecting artists to those who have come before. The selected artists have been driven by deep cultural and artistic traditions and a visceral connection to something greater than themselves.