Canvassing the Neighborhood: New Mexico Artists’ Views of Neighborhood Life

Many Santa Feans knew Teal McKibben as part of the Canyon Road community of artists and shopkeepers. But few of her customers knew her as an artist. McKibben specialized in the region’s indigenous arts that also filled her apartment behind the store. This private, solitary artist wove figurative textiles and drew large pastels of her collections. However, McKibben rarely revealed her spellbinding works to outsiders.

Tim Prythero constructs his own neighborhoods of diners, trailers, taco wagons, service stations, and auto parts stores. This hyper-real sculptor revels in the patina of well worn objects from a fleeting past, and skillfully recreates the illusion of those surfaces.

Carlotta Boettcher salvages automobile hoods and transforms them into metal “canvases” for her paintings. These works present an eclectic mix of imagery that ranges from memories of Cuba to geometric abstraction.

And from another perspective, Alex Harris offers an over-the-hood view of life in Northern New Mexico. Many of his color photographs present New Mexico as it is often seen – through the windshield of a car or truck.

Canvassing the Neighborhood confirms that unexpected works of art always turn up in the neighborhoods of New Mexico.

For more information, contact Joseph Traugott at 505-476-5062 or joseph.traugott@state.nm.us