New Mexico's Vistas Offer Opportunity, Challenge to Artists

SANTA FE, N.M. - June 9, 2015 - PRLog -- “To widen the horizon of art.” That was the goal of the Transcendental Painting Group, formed in New Mexico in 1938. Its members created mystical abstract artwork that drew influence from European modernists such as Kandinsky and Mondrian, but also reflected the colors and lines of the New Mexico landscape. The bold experimentation of the TPG is one touchpoint of Matthews Gallery’s WIDENING THE HORIZON: New Mexico Landscapes, which examines artists’ efforts to capture the boundless horizons of the Land of Enchantment in the 20th and 21st centuries. The exhibition opens with a special reception on Saturday, June 13 from 5-7 and closes June 30.

“So much of what makes modern and contemporary art of New Mexico idiosyncratic is the artist’s inevitable relationship with the terrain,” says Lawrence Matthews. “Whether it’s a romantic landscape from the 1920’s or pure abstraction from 2015, you can feel the spirit of the setting.”

Featured artists in the show include TPG mavericks Raymond Jonson and Emil Bisttram; Taos modernist Beatrice Mandelman; Santa Fe masters Alfred Morang, William Lumpkins and William Vincent Kirkpatrick; and contemporary artists Jamie Chase, Eli Levin, Alice Webb and Barbara Brock.

“From one wall to the next, you’ll see many diverse perspectives on the High Desert,” says Matthews. “Morang provides a postimpressionist take, while Lumpkins creates aerial views inspired by plane travel, and contemporary artists like Chase and Levin relate the landscape to the lines of the human body.” As the landscapes shift and fragment, locals and tourists alike will discover new ways to experience New Mexico’s great natural beauty.

For more information, please visit www.thematthewsgallery.com.