RioBravoFineArt presents the bold, large-scale abstractions of Noёl Hudson’s Freedom Series opening on September 9, and the contemplative work of Delmas Howe’s Mood Drawings opening on October 14.
Noël Hudson: From the Freedom Series
September 9–October 23, 2023
Delmas Howe: Mood Drawings
October 14–November 26, 2023
RioBravoFineArt, Truth or Consequences, NM
RioBravoFineArt presents two exhibitions by longtime New Mexico artists this fall at its Truth or Consequences gallery space.
The artwork in Noël Hudson’s show Freedom Series was created during an intense, transitional period for the artist. This show is a carefully curated selection of pieces that reflect a time of exceptional creativity. These pieces are striking compositions with vibrant color palettes. The works are large-scale, with the largest pieces measuring forty-two inches by seventy-two inches. This show is a display of some of this talented artist’s finest work.
Hudson has experienced many cultures through her art studies and travels that have shaped her artistic career. In 1969, while pursuing a Master of Fine Arts, she traveled Europe extensively to study art and architecture. A year after obtaining her degree, she went to Japan for three years where she taught art and studied with a contemporary Japanese printmaker; she also explored numerous countries in Southeast Asia. In 1980 she moved from Southern California to Taos. She has maintained a home and studio along the Rio Grande corridor in Taos, Albuquerque, and, currently, Santa Fe, with a creative focus on painting, printmaking, and collage. The rich history and culture of New Mexico and its vast open spaces and beauty are now Hudson’s greatest inspirations.
Hudson, a strong promoter of arts in New Mexico, serves on the Capitol Art Committee, which is responsible for the art collection in the New Mexico State Capitol Building. Her art is in this important collection.
The artwork in Delmas Howe’s show are abstract pieces he calls “mood drawings,” which inspired the name of this exhibition. Howe, while creating his usual representational pieces, would take breaks to capture his mood on a nearby sketch pad or canvas. These reflections, with a mixture of motion and color, have a deep, contemplative aura.
Howe established himself as an important artist with his Rodeo Pantheon series. It spoke openly to the LGBTQ+ community in the format of “serious” art early on in the gay rights movement. Howe combined his love of a Beaux-Arts style with his childhood experiences growing up in the “cowboy culture” of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. The use of traditional, academic style to provocatively represent Southern New Mexico cowboys turns classical Beaux-Arts painting on its head. At the same time, Howe manages to respectfully pay homage to the cowboys while providing clever insights into American culture. The initial Rodeo Pantheon series—catalogued in a publication by the same name—has been followed by other great series, including Stations: A Gay Passion (critiqued in Arte y SIDA en Nuevo York by José Luis Plaza Chillón), Guys and Canyons, Gesture and Texture, and Fresh Air.
Howe, who turns eighty-eight in October, has artwork in the Albuquerque Museum and the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe.
Join the gallery in celebrating the opening of new exhibitions during T or C’s Second Saturday Art Hop.
riobravofineartgallery.com
instagram / facebook
sponsored by
