Thursday, February 16, 2012

Exhibition: The Sixteenth Square


I recently attended the opening reception for the The Sixteenth Square exhibition hosted by 5G Gallery at the Factory on 5th Art Space. This exhibition includes four painters, Chris Pendelton, Allen Colmenares, Brandon Atencio and Zane White, and four ceramic artists, Evan Speegle, Nikki Denisson, Casey Pendergast and Becky Hefty. Opening night also included three music acts, Bat Wings for Lab Rats, Bullet Tooth, and Mat Thomas. The combination of art and music was well received and the energy felt at the reception was similar to that of an opening night at a New York art exhibition.


The concept for The Sixteenth Square exhibition began with the show’s director Zane White who had showed his work at the 5G Gallery at “The Peoples Art Show” in March 2011. He really enjoyed the show, the energy of the artists and the layout of the art gallery. This lead Zane to talk to his fellow friends and artists that he attended UNM with about the art space. He pulled together artists who were actively making art on their own and were interested in creating a group show. Together they voted on the name of the show after each member submitted a title. It was Nikki Denisson’s submission of The Sixteenth Square that won over the group. She defined her title as a play on words and numbers; eight artists by two types of art medium integrated with musical art equals The Sixteenth Square.


The Exhibition explores and captures the essence of “sacred space” within many diverse social themes and across conventional social boundaries. There were no limitation imposed on any of the artists involved concerning the content, material, or display choice, so the result is a very dynamic representation of sacred space across cultural, artistic, and personal preconceptions. The painters represent many differing approaches to depiction including traditional naturalism, surrealism, street art, pop art, symbolism, and complete abstraction. The ceramic artists also represent many differing approaches to working in clay including sculpture, fine vessel making, and wide range of firing atmospheres, texture and pallet. 

The Sixteenth Square exhibition will hang through February 24th at the 5G Gallery at the Factory on 5th Art Space, 1715 Fifth Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87107, (505) 385-2428. 

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Hearts & Kisses Art Show


The Old Schoolhouse Gallery is currently hosting the Hearts & Kisses art show featuring jewelry, paintings, sculpture, prints, ceramics and photography that center around the concept of love and romance in the spirit of Valentine’s Day this month. Three artists in particular stand out when you view this exhibition: Carrie Benvenuti, Cheryl Kabala and Lois Bradley.


Metal artist Carrie Benvenuti’s jewelry is exquisite and captivating to the eye. Combined with glass and semi-precious stones, her art jewelry reflects the textures and colors of the living world around us. Carrie’s work has been published in several issues of Bead Trends Magazine. In particular, the Nefertiti piece was featured in the February 2012 issue and the Route 66 piece was featured in the May 2010 issue. To view her work online visit: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BenvenutiStudios.


Cheryl Kabala originally began her career as a professional weaver. She owned and operated Fibers Studio and Gallery in Safety Harbor, Florida. She actively showed her artwork at juried outdoor art shows such as Disney Festival of the Masters, Dallas 500 and Virginia Beach Boardwalk Show. Recently, she has focused her artwork on using beads to make jewelry. Cheryl uses the Peyote stitch, which is an off-loom bead weaving technique, to make her Cripple Creek necklace featured in the Hearts & Kisses show. To view her work online visit: http://www.etsy.com/people/ItsaKabala.


Lois Bradley is a visual artist, illustrator and author, working in acrylics, watercolor, pen/ink and mixed media. She has illustrated the book Blind Tom: The Horse Who Helped Build the Great Railroad by Shirley Raye Redmond, Mountain Press Publishing and most recently the cover illustration and design for The Eyes of Pharaoh by Chris Eboch and Rattled by Kris Bock. Her award-winning paintings can be viewed at Framing Concepts Gallery in Albuquerque and The Old Schoolhouse Gallery in San Antonito, New Mexico. In addition, Lois was recently celebrated as "A Local Treasure" by the city of Albuquerque in 2011. Her art piece, Unbreakable, a combination of fibers and metal is a must-see at the Hearts & Kisses show. To view her work online visit: www.loisbradley.com.


The Hearts & Kisses Art show will hang for the month of February at The Old Schoolhouse Gallery, 12504 North Hwy.14, San Antonito, NM, 505.281.1250,