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Could Rejecting State Art Grants Be the New Anti-Trump Resistance?
As Trump “reviews” the Smithsonian and NEA rules shift, New Mexico arts groups are weighing whether to reject state grants tied to federal funding.
September 18, 2025
Obsession at the Museum: Unpacking Alexander Girard’s Gargantuan Santa Fe Exhibition
In a single 1978 acquisition, the Museum of International Folk Art grew by 100,000 objects—and effectively adopted their fervent and eccentric collector.
September 16, 2025
Patricio Tlacaelel Trujillo y Fuentes: A Life in Motion
Discover multidisciplinary artist Tlacaelel's one-man performance "Yo Soy Joaquín" at Taos Center for the Arts, September 20-21, 2025.
September 16, 2025
What’s Up With Phoenix’s Latest Gallery Scene Shuffle?
Change is afoot in the metro Phoenix gallery scene due to closures, mergers, and redevelopment plans.
September 11, 2025
The Border Artists Collective of Southern New Mexico Exhibits in Truth or Consequences
Catch Truth or Consequences's Second Saturday Art Hop, and the opening of RioBravoFineArt's Border Artists group exhibition, on September 13, 6-9 pm.
September 10, 2025
Ogden Contemporary Arts Announces Suzanne Sbarge as Fall 2025 Artist-in-Residence
New Mexico–based artist Suzanne Sbarge's two-month residency in Ogden begins September 2025, featuring new collage and installation work exploring nature and consciousness, culminating in a solo exhibition November 7, 2025–January 11, 2026.
September 09, 2025
FeatureNevadaVol. 12 Obsession
Empires of Dirt: Michael Heizer’s City
Michael Heizer’s City prompts considerations of obsession, scale, and legacy through the lens of land, labor, and the weight of inherited ambition.
September 05, 2025
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News
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Could Rejecting State Art Grants Be the New Anti-Trump Resistance?
As Trump “reviews” the Smithsonian and NEA rules shift, New Mexico arts groups are weighing whether to reject state grants tied to federal funding.
September 18, 2025
Obsession at the Museum: Unpacking Alexander Girard’s Gargantuan Santa Fe Exhibition
In a single 1978 acquisition, the Museum of International Folk Art grew by 100,000 objects—and effectively adopted their fervent and eccentric collector.
September 16, 2025
What’s Up With Phoenix’s Latest Gallery Scene Shuffle?
Change is afoot in the metro Phoenix gallery scene due to closures, mergers, and redevelopment plans.
September 11, 2025
Southwest Art News: September 2025
Vail settles lawsuit with Danielle SeeWalker over her painting G is for Genocide, hundreds of culture organizations sign open letter denouncing censorship, and more top Southwest art news headlines for September 2025.
September 02, 2025
“You’re Being Zeroed Out”: How IAIA Battled Its Biggest Funding Threat in Decades
Institute of American Indian Arts leaders on turning the tides in their federal funding fight—and why it’s not over yet.
August 26, 2025
Off-Market: 11 Must-See Satellite Shows and Events for Santa Fe Indian Market 2025
While you’re in Santa Fe for Indian Market, don’t miss these Native art experiences featuring Cara Romero, Fritz Scholder, Diego Medina, and more.
August 12, 2025
An Artist Who Builds Dreamworlds Alongside Moths, Stones, and Stars
Sculptor-photographer Virginia L. Montgomery is based in Austin but her work lives on a different plane, somewhere between science and dreams.
August 07, 2025
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Patricio Tlacaelel Trujillo y Fuentes: A Life in Motion
Discover multidisciplinary artist Tlacaelel's one-man performance "Yo Soy Joaquín" at Taos Center for the Arts, September 20-21, 2025.
September 16, 2025
The Border Artists Collective of Southern New Mexico Exhibits in Truth or Consequences
Catch Truth or Consequences's Second Saturday Art Hop, and the opening of RioBravoFineArt's Border Artists group exhibition, on September 13, 6-9 pm.
September 10, 2025
Ogden Contemporary Arts Announces Suzanne Sbarge as Fall 2025 Artist-in-Residence
New Mexico–based artist Suzanne Sbarge's two-month residency in Ogden begins September 2025, featuring new collage and installation work exploring nature and consciousness, culminating in a solo exhibition November 7, 2025–January 11, 2026.
September 09, 2025
Artists
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FeatureNew MexicoVol. 12 Obsession
Material Monogamy: Three Creators Find Their Prima Materia
Three New Mexico–based artists—c marquez, Susan York, and Judy Tuwaletstiwa—reflect on their relationship with the material that has defined their practice.
September 05, 2025
The Medium is their Message: Compulsion and Identity in Zion
Artists Stephanie Leitch, Angela Ellsworth, and Nancy Rivera use materially obsessive processes to reflect on the mythos of Utah.
September 05, 2025
Studio VisitArizonaVol. 12 Obsession
Gloria Martinez-Granados: Borderless Creative
Working in her Phoenix studio, artist Gloria Martinez-Granados creates works countering the nation’s anti-immigrant obsession.
September 05, 2025
Studio VisitTexasVol. 12 Obsession
Eli Ruhala: Post Obsession
After years of building maze-like monuments to queer love, Texas-based painter Eli Ruhala is at a crossroads his practice.
September 05, 2025
InterviewTexasVol. 12 Obsession
“We’re Inside a Body!”: An Interview with Artist and Caver Erika Jaeggli
Texas-based artist Erika Jaeggli on her first descent into a cave—and the all-consuming passion it unearthed.
September 05, 2025
PhotographyTexasVol. 12 Obsession
Phoebe Shuman-Goodier Transfigures Trash into Tender Monuments of Care and Possibility
Phoebe Shuman-Goodier’s photography marks her sculptural collaborations with her father, and a shared obsession with transforming a junkyard into art.
September 05, 2025
Obsession: Cande Aguilar
For Cande Aguilar, the hand-painted signs of the Rio Grande Valley define contemporary painting more than museums do.
September 05, 2025
Exhibitions
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ReviewNew MexicoVol. 12 Obsession
In Abstracting Nature, New Mexico Artists Collaborate with Wild Entropic Powers
Natural entropy is a tool—and a sustainable ethos—for ten artists in Abstracting Nature at the Albuquerque Museum.
September 05, 2025
In the Shadows, Our Ghosts Lurk Creepily Resonates at a Time of Mass Surveillance and Obscuration
Curator Fabiola Iza brings together eleven artists for an exhibition that investigates the shadowy corners of perception.
September 05, 2025
ReviewColoradoVol. 12 Obsession
Kent Monkman’s History Paintings Are Anything But Traditional
Kent Monkman’s exhibition at the Denver Art Museum is a provocative and stunning survey that champions the marginalized while subverting history.
September 05, 2025
To Affect Social Change, These Artists Put One Foot in Front of the Other
In Step After Step at Kimball Art Center, artists leave their studios behind to claim the moving body as a revolutionary artistic method.
September 05, 2025
ReviewArizonaVol. 12 Obsession
Rasquachismo and Resilience: Ya Hecho Transforms Found Objects into Borderland Narratives
Artists working along the U.S.-Mexico border bring the rasquachismo aesthetic to Ya Hecho: Readymade in the Borderlands as the U.S. government escalates its anti-immigrant stance.
September 05, 2025
SponsoredColoradoVol. 12 Obsession
Beau Carey’s Brightness Bound Reimagines Landscape Painting Through Memory and Movement
Catch Beau Carey's innovative landscape paintings at Visions West Contemporary in Denver, October 3-November 15, 2025, with an opening reception on October 3, 6-8 pm.
September 05, 2025
ASU Art Museum Opens Two Powerful Exhibitions Exploring Migration and Urban Resilience
Join ASU Art Museum's opening celebration on September 13 for Tierras Reimaginadas: Migration and Michelangelo Lovelace: Art Saved My Life.
September 02, 2025
In Print
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FeatureNevadaVol. 12 Obsession
Empires of Dirt: Michael Heizer’s City
Michael Heizer’s City prompts considerations of obsession, scale, and legacy through the lens of land, labor, and the weight of inherited ambition.
September 05, 2025
FeatureNew MexicoVol. 12 Obsession
Queen Agnes
Abstract painter Agnes Martin sought isolation in New Mexico to stoke her obsessive practice. She found vibrant community.
September 05, 2025
FeatureNew MexicoVol. 12 Obsession
Material Monogamy: Three Creators Find Their Prima Materia
Three New Mexico–based artists—c marquez, Susan York, and Judy Tuwaletstiwa—reflect on their relationship with the material that has defined their practice.
September 05, 2025
The Medium is their Message: Compulsion and Identity in Zion
Artists Stephanie Leitch, Angela Ellsworth, and Nancy Rivera use materially obsessive processes to reflect on the mythos of Utah.
September 05, 2025
Studio VisitArizonaVol. 12 Obsession
Gloria Martinez-Granados: Borderless Creative
Working in her Phoenix studio, artist Gloria Martinez-Granados creates works countering the nation’s anti-immigrant obsession.
September 05, 2025
Studio VisitTexasVol. 12 Obsession
Eli Ruhala: Post Obsession
After years of building maze-like monuments to queer love, Texas-based painter Eli Ruhala is at a crossroads his practice.
September 05, 2025
From the EditorVol. 12 Obsession
From the Editor: Southwest Contemporary Vol. 12 — OBSESSION
Southwest Contemporary: OBSESSION foregrounds artistic fixations, revealing the loops, patterns, and intensities that define the Southwest’s cultural landscape.
September 08, 2025
The Hyperlocal
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FeatureSouthwestThe Hyperlocal
Exiled Artist Named “War and Peace” Never Gave Up Faraway Fight for Democracy
Two fires marked Burmese artist Sitt Nyein Aye’s life. After his tragic death in Colorado, a tribute to his "Little Myanmar" of the Southwest.
August 21, 2025
The Birth, Death, and Resurrection of a Ghost Town Artist Residency
After years of harassment, Home of the Brave artist residency founder Eileen Muza sold the ghost town property. The new owner will restart the program in Cisco, Utah, this fall.
July 29, 2025
Studio VisitTexasThe Hyperlocal
Dallas AIR Quality Report: The Cedars Union Offers “Life-Changing” Support for Artists
By prioritizing locality and the rich diversity of its community, the Cedars Union has become a cornerstone for Dallas artists and creatives.
July 15, 2025
An Architecture of Care: Passive House Designer Andrew Michler Embraces a Hyperlocal Approach
Andrew Michler redefines sustainable design through hyperlocal, compassionate architecture shaped by climate, culture, and the evolving lives of its occupants.
June 05, 2025
Studio VisitColoradoThe Hyperlocal
An Artist Who Paints the West as Strange as It Is
Colorado artist Grace Kennison paints her way into the reality of the West, a place layered thick with fictional narratives, mythical characters, suppressed histories, and surreal storylines.
June 02, 2025
“What’s Your Side Hustle?”: Hard-Earned Lessons on Artistic Survival from a Southwest Highway Town
The artists of Helper, Utah, have spent the last three decades honing strategies to strengthen their rural community—and make the regional market work for them.
May 13, 2025
Meet the “Sad Little Houses” of Dallas, and the Artists on the Front Lines of the Housing Crisis
Three artists confront the Texas housing crisis with street-level projects using piñatas, murals, gentrification walking tours, and more.
May 06, 2025
