Clockwise: The scenic byway to Taos. Statuary and rock wall in Chimayó, New Mexico.
I ’ve been in Santa Fe for two days and I’m still trying to understand “the light”—trying to find the right words to describe what has lured artists here for more than 100 years. To do so, I stroll along the crisscross of down- town’s historic streets, ducking in and out of galleries seemingly at every turn. I see contemporary paintings streaked in screaming red and cerulean blue hues. Golden and earthen pigments highlight more traditional high-desert landscapes against a backdrop of silver-tinted clouds. And as for “the light,” it doesn’t take long before the words start to flow. “The light is glorious, sort of lumi- nous. It’s apparently a privilege to paint in this kind of light,” surmises Denise Phetteplace with downtown’s Blue Rain Gallery. “Certainly the elevation is part of
it; we also have very blue skies. And low humidity probably changes the way the light sort of hits things because the atmo- sphere is not as thick.” “It’s magical,” asserts New Mexican artist Barry McCuan who also painted in the South of France—in a similar light where the great Impressionists created their masterpieces. “In New Mexico, you have clarity to see vast distances. And when it’s clear, it’s absolutely incredible,” continues McCuan, speaking with me along Canyon Road, an old mountain trail now lined with the city’s largest concentration of galleries. “The lack of humidity and pollution and the high alti- tude create the light.” At more than 7,000 feet, Santa Fe is both the highest and the oldest capital city in the U.S. Adobe buildings abound, their earthen facades adding to the
Spanish and Native American heritage of this four-century-old city. And, art is everywhere—traditional, contemporary, and abstract; paintings, sculptures, pub- lic art, and handicrafts. “You just can’t throw a rock and not hit an artist in this town,” says Rod Lambert with the City of Santa Fe Community Gallery. With more than 250 galleries, the city is deemed the second largest art market in the country. Artworks for sale—including contemporary paint- ings with squiggly lines and strategically placed blotches—can bring in $300,000, $600,000 and upwards of $1 million. “This is serious art, something to get excited about,” says Kathrine Erickson, owner of the EVOKE Contemporary gal- lery and president of the Santa Fe Gallery Association. “It’s putting Santa Fe on the map in a big way.”
12 COAST TO COAST SPRING 2015
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