Nopalitos Galeria presents: Origins – “A New Start” featuring the artwork of John Dick-Peddie and Arnold Puentes.
December 7th to December 30th 2018.

“The art is homage not only to the fertile valleys and various locales of Dona Ana County and Las Cruces, but also to the fertile beginnings of indigenous/cultural myths, stories, and images.”

Co-hosts: Susan Austin and Iris Puentes

Facilitator: David Chavez

Art Ramble
Date:      December 7th 2018
Time:      5 p.m. until 8 p.m.

Artists Reception
Date:      December 8th 2018
Time:      4 p.m. until 8 p.m.

Origins – “A New Start”

Are the origins of self, family, place, culture, in the mind, in the heart, in a southern (New) Mexico town, or in the cosmos? Recognizing our origins allows us to reconnect with what once was, and now what it has become. Originally, cultural events revolved around traditions, or passages, or perhaps even rituals. Time has pushed much of our understanding of origins back to a point where we no longer recognize, or remember these beginnings. We have often forgotten the origination of our fondest relationships, our love of our town, and our love of our culture.

“Origins” looks at the ancestral genesis and our hometown, valley, and (New) Mexican/Las Cruces culture. Friends since grade school, an origin of its own, the artists will exhibit a combination of local landscapes, and cultural originations. The art is homage not only to the fertile valleys and various locales of Dona Ana County and Las Cruces, but also to the fertile beginnings of indigenous/cultural myths, stories, and images. The exhibit is meant to resurrect and revive hearts and minds of the viewing community both young and old. By reconnecting to the “Origins” of our beloved home and culture, the art may give rise to a new awareness of our existence and our home. It is a fresh start to old concepts of time and place and will provide an experience to be seen, realized, known, and to understand that what was, still is – a place of origin.

A talk by Dr. Daniel Villa of New Mexico State University and the Mesquite Historic Preservation Society. Where: Nopalitos Galleria, 326 S. Mesquite St., Las Cruces, NM. When: Friday, April 4, 2014 7pm Weather permitting talk will be on the patio. First in a series of talks about El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. Roads and trails have played a significant role in the social and cultural influences of a society. Doña Ana was the first permanent settlement in the Mesilla Valley. It is one of the few remaining intact Hispanic villages along the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Historic Trail.

Nopalito’s Galeria presents Stephanie Lee Forrest in her multimedia exhibition entitled “Objections to Realism”. The exhibition pushes the limits of reality focusing on old and new works created by the Artist over the years. The exhibition opens March 1 to March 23rd. “As an artist, my ambition is to generate a theme using images and text to show my personal interests. The images in this show are some of my most secret thoughts and feelings. My hope is that the pieces in “Objections to Realism” will inspire others to push the limits of reality and find their own voice in life and art. What I love most about creating art is getting excited about an idea, translating practice into imagery, when the work comes together as a whole and represents what I am attempting to say, and especially if it makes a collective impression on the observer”.

– Stephanie Lee Forrest