Closing reception: Stuffed Windows

Closing October 3: Stuffed Windows an exhibition of works responding to economic decline at Highlands University

Two weeks remain to see multidisciplinary artist Faith Purvey’s solo show of photos framed in industrial refuse, sculptural stuffed window frames, gouache paintings and site-based installation at Burris Hall, New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, NM. The show offers a view of rural New Mexico that subverts traditional notions of landscape, instead offering meditations on ruin and neglect.

Purvey’s artistic exploration of storefront and residential windows in the region, stuffed to the surface with boxes, old material, furniture and detritus becomes almost magical, melancholy like an old office on Hwy 54 that hasn’t been occupied in 40 years. This ongoing series exemplifies composition and color through a painterly approach with material, bringing into focus these quiet spaces in the din.

Many of the elements in this exhibit comprised a storefront installation at Vladem Contemporary, New Mexico Museum of Art, exhibited October 2024 through March 2025.

This ongoing series also includes the LIBRARYMUSEUM project (photocopy reconstructions in glass cases) which conceptually reconsidered the interior of a formerly public-serving building fallen into disuse that used to be a library, theatre, and community space in Saint Paul, MN. This work was positioned along an affected route in the extended aftermath of property destruction during the George Floyd uprisings, with canvas panels adhered to Deco-era window bumpouts over 3 iterations and 2 winters.
Faith Purvey is a multidisciplinary artist and educator whose work invites human encounter in the landscapes around us, including via site-responsive installation, painting, sculpture, photography, and community engaged works. Through studio and public art practices, her projects explore rural and environmental topics also through partnerships with civic entities, youth, arts and nonprofits. She does projects throughout New Mexico, Los Angeles, and the world.