Releases | New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs

Three Upcoming Exhibitions at New Mexico Museum of Art Delve into the Dark & New Mexican Sculpture

October 16th, 2018

(Santa Fe, New Mexico) -- Three upcoming exhibitions at the New Mexico Museum of Art opening before the end of the year delve into the darkness through painting and photography and, explore 20th Century New Mexican sculpture in a range of styles.

The exhibitions are entitled: Wait Until Dark, Shots in the Dark, and Carved & Cast: 20th Century New Mexican Sculpture.

Wait Until Dark

November 17, 2018 –April 21, 2019

Generally understood as simply a night scene, the term nocturne refers to the quality of light in a painting, and can be twilight, waxing or waning light, or the darkness of night. Nocturne speaks as much to the mood of a painting as it does the quality of light. Artists use this to create narratives and convey a mood that can be dreamy, ethereal, menacing, meditative, brooding, or poetic. This exhibition is drawn from the museum’s extensive collection of nocturnes, including painting, prints, and photographs.

Shots in the Dark

December 15, 2018 – March 31, 2019

Photography is most often associated with light but in this exhibition, four Southwest photographers explore the dark side of the medium. Christopher Colville, Scott B. Davis, Michael Lundgren, and Ken Rosenthal make pictures in the landscape at night, inviting us to explore our preconceptions, fears, and fantasies about the world of shadows.               

Night skies are one of the amazing natural beauties of New Mexico, which is home to five Gold and Silver -Tier Dark Sky Parks, as certified by the International Dark Sky Association. Shots in the Dark and Wait Until Dark are companion exhibitions and will be complemented by the Night Life Imagination Station. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to explore the themes of the night and delve deeper into the subject through a range of creative activities.

Night Life Imagination Station

November 17, 2018 – April 21, 2019

Every day we are on an exciting ride called planet Earth. The earth is a sphere, or ball, that spins as it travels in space around the sun. When one side of the sphere is facing away from the sun, it is darker and cooler, and we call it night. As a complement to these two nocturnal themed exhibitions the Night Life Imagination Station will expand your appreciation of darkness through a series of activities that investigate and illustrate the night.

Explore the many aspects of night life with puppets, writing, and drawing activities. The Night Life Imagination Station will run concurrently with Wait Until Dark and Shots in the Dark.

Carved & Cast: 20th Century New Mexican Sculpture

December 15, 2018 – March 31, 2019

Bringing art off the walls and into three dimensions, Carved & Cast showcases sculpture in a range of media, genres, and styles that New Mexican artists utilized over the last century. The exhibition highlights the various ways sculpture engages with the cultural, social, and aesthetic interests of the Southwest by spotlighting significant sculptors in the Museum of Art collection, including works by Patrocinio Barela, Agnes C. Sims, Eugenie Shonnard, Fritz Scholder, and Una Hanbury. Bringing the outside in, this exhibition will move beyond the boundaries of the gallery and include a new interpretive program for the museum’s sculpture gardens.

“New Mexico is known for the unique quality of light which has fascinated thousands of artists in a variety of mediums for decades,” said Mary Kershaw, director of the New Mexico Museum of Art. “Wait until Dark opening next month and Shots in the Dark opening in December both explore the essence of darkness in painting and photography. For the first time, we are installing an entire gallery dedicated to hands-on creative activity for visitors of all ages with The Night Life Imagination Station connected to both nocturne exhibitions.

“Also opening in December is Carved & Cast: 20th Century New Mexican Sculpture, celebrating sculpture in the galleries as well as in our sculpture courtyards. works in our collection in a variety of mediums. These outdoor artworks are often overlooked by our visitors, and this show will inspire our visitors to explore beyond the museum walls “

Public Reception:

A public reception for all three exhibitions on January 4, 2019 from 5-7 p.m., hosted by the Women’s Board of the Museum of New Mexico. Free for New Mexico Residents on the first Sunday of the month, and from 5-7 p.m. on the first Friday of the month through the end of April.

About the New Mexico Museum of Art: http://www.nmartmuseum.org/   Founded in 1917 as the Art Gallery of the Museum of New Mexico, the New Mexico Museum of Art has been presenting innovative arts programming in downtown Santa Fe for a century.  At its founding, the museum collected and exhibited artworks by noted artists from New Mexico and elsewhere. This tradition continues today with a wide array of exhibitions and a significant collection featuring work from the world’s leading artists. Today, as at its founding, the Museum of Art strives to bring the art of New Mexico to the world and the art of the world to New Mexico. Museum exhibitions and programs are supported by donors to the Museum of New Mexico Foundation and its Director’s Leadership Fund and Exhibitions Development Fund. A division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. Hours: 10 am to 5 pm daily, May through October; closed Mondays November through April, closed Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. 107 West Palace Avenue, Santa Fe, New Mexico, just off the downtown Plaza in Santa Fe, NM 87501. 24 Hr. Recorded Message: (505) 476-5072; Front desk: (505) 476-5041. Events, news releases and images about activities at the History Museum and Palace of the Governors and other in divisions of the Department of Cultural Affairs can be accessed at media.newmexicoculture.org.

 

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