Gallery Hop

Yesterday was gallery hop day. First we went to a downtown art space and admired the small-and medium-format tapestries and mixed-media works by Donna Loraine Contractor.

Next, we found our way to the Open Space Visitor Center, which is located in a large green space preserve along the banks of the Rio Grande. The area was once a Spanish Land Grant, but before that it was the site of a major pueblo, and archeological work continues to find new treasures of pueblo life. The Visitor Center is a beautiful modern adobe with many rooms of educational displays about the flora, fauna, and history of the area. In one of the rooms is an exhibit "Interwoven Traditions: New Mexico and Bauhaus" featuring works by James Koehler and two of his students, Rebecca Mezoff and Cornelia Theimer Gardella. They spent several years researching and interpreting the precepts of the Bauhaus design movement. This exhibit was absolutely stunning - the highlight of the day. I love Koehler's work but was not familiar with the other artists, but the quality of their work was amazing. I particularly coveted one of Mezoff's pieces... This exhibit will travel to Erfurt, Germany, later this summer, so if you have a chance to see it, do it.

Then we went to a yarn shop that had not only an amazing range of knitting and weaving yarns, but also an exhibit of tapestries by Kathe Todd-Hooker. Kathe is probably the only tapestry artist I'm aware of who works in sewing thread. The detail, color work, and emotional content are amazing and wonderful. The pieces are small, but pack a lot of weight into that small size.

Then on to another gallery exhibiting the work of the members of California Fibers, Michael Rohde and Cameron Taylor-Brown among them.

Back downtown, we went to two galleries located across the street from one another (and only a few blocks from the Convention Center) to see works by Jennifer Moore (double-weave wallhangings) and two fiber art exhibits that were not specifically woven, but very intriguing contemporary art pieces. More things to covet!

No photos, because most galleries don't allow photography, sorry!

In the evening, we attended the Convergence Fashion Show, which was nonstop high-energy fun. The garments were modelled by professionals, the music up-tempo, and the colors, textures, and shapes very satisfying. All in all, a long but visually stimulating day.