Decades to Remember

A retrospective of New Mexico art from the second half of the 21st century opens at Vladem Contemporary.

Since its inception in 1917, the New Mexico Museum of Art has been at the forefront of collecting and interpreting the art of New Mexico, with particular emphasis on early 20th-century art. When its expansion project, Vladem Contemporary, opened in the fall of 2023, one of the museum’s guiding visions was to continue studying and showcasing the art of New Mexico, with a focus on more recent decades.

With Off-Center: New Mexico Art, 1970-2000, a retrospective of three exciting decades in the state’s artistic legacy, a collaborative group of curators have put together a landmark exhibition at the Vladem that not only celebrates the rich diversity of creative expression during the era, but also the hubs and hidden gems in the state from where it came.

T.C. Cannon (Kiowa-Caddo), Washington Landscape with Peace Medal Indian, 1976, acrylic on canvas, 50 x 45½” . Collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art. Gift of Nancy and Richard Bloch, 2001 (2001.13.1). © Joyce Cannon Yi - Executor of T. C. Cannon Estate. Photo by Blair Clark.

“The artwork in this gallery demonstrates the nuanced ways in which artists working during the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s have engaged the idea of place through their work,” says Christian Waguespack, head of curatorial affairs and curator of 20th-century art at New Mexico Museum of Art. “The stories told through these artworks in their various groupings explore how New Mexico, as an ecological, cultural, communal and evolving location, influenced artists and impacted their aesthetics, values and working practices.”

Larry McNeil (Tlingit/Nisga’a), Real Indians, 1977 (printed 2007), pigment print, 10 x 10½”. Collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art. Gift Patrick Nagatani, 2016 (2016.4.1) © Larry McNeil. Photo by Blair Clark.

There are 25 Indigenous artists among the 125 total in the exhibit, from those at the peak of their creative output in the 1970s and are now deceased, to contemporary artists like Kevin Red Star (Crow) and Jaune Quick-To-See Smith (Citizen of Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation), with each represented by one work.

“When considering land and place, questions of native sovereignty continue to be a pressing issue,” says Waguespack. “Artists T.C. Cannon, Fritz Scholder and Lary McNeil were among the many artists who brought Native voices to the forefront in commentary over Indigenous land. Migration and the idea of New Mexico as a cultural crossroad is explored through the work of Luis A. Jiménez Jr. in his sculpture inspired by his parents crossing of the boarder from Mexico, as well as Linda Lomahaftewa reminder that long before colonization, the southwest was a rich center of cultural exchange.”

David Bradley (Ojibwa (Chippewa)), El Farol: Canyon Road Cantina, 2000, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60”. Collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art. Gift of James and Margie Krebs, 2005 (2004.2.7). © David Bradley. Photo by Blair Clark.Waguespack also notes the significance of the Institute of American Indian Arts opening in the 1960s and the influence of professors including Scholder who exposed students to a variety of global art movements like abstract expressionism including Earl Biss, Kevin Red Star and Roxanne Swintzell.

Melanie Yazzie (Navajo/Diné), Indian Boy Art Project, 1993, screen print, 22½ x 30”. Collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art. Gift of Lucy R. Lippard, 1999 (1999.15.40). © Melanie Yazzie.

“As the only collecting institution for contemporary art by artists of all backgrounds in Santa Fe, we want to use this opportunity to bring that story forward and survey the as of now untold story of New Mexico art during these exciting decades,” says Waguespack. “[Our aim] is to impress upon visitors how much was actually happening here during that time, to open a window into the importance of new Mexico to the global art world as a place that supports art making in its many forms. Also to offer a snapshot of this art historical moment here.”

June 8, 2024-May 4, 2025
Off-Center: New Mexico Art, 1970-2000
New Mexico Museum of Art Vladem Contemporary
404 Montezuma Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 476-5062, www.nmartmuseum.org/vladem-contemporary