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Creative Capital — Santa Fe, New Mexico
By : Rosa Rojas
Photos J. Kevin Foltz
La Fonda, a landmark hotel in Santa Fe, has had an artist-in-residence for the past 50 years. He's created more than 1,000 works of art all over the property—on glass panes, switch plates, headboards, ceilings and even in the hotel's garage. His work is just the beginning when it comes to sampling the artistic richness of this city.
Museums
Down the street from La Fonda is a museum dedicated to New Mexico's most recognized artist, Georgia O'Keeffe. The small museum's best feature is a short film that reveals, among other things, how the artist was not pleased with her flower paintings being seen as sexual imagery. Those who pass by this summer will see Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities on display.
okeeffemuseum.org
The Museum of International Folk Art is known for its Girard Wing, which showcases more than 10,000 pieces of folk art from around the world. The objects, collected since the 1930s by Alexander Girard, "were selected for their beauty, humor, whimsy, enthusiasm, spontaneity and directness." Among the most memorable are an aluminum foil castle from Poland, puppets from India, Japanese Transformers and a variety of devils and angels as imagined by several artists.
moifa.org
Galleries
The downtown area galleries that enticed me to come in for a closer look were William DeBilzan's and LewAllen Contemporary, both located on West Palace Avenue. A self-taught artist from Michigan, DeBilzan's paintings have long-legged, white T-shirt-clad figures who seem to all have their hands buried in their pockets, giving them an air of sweet shyness. Over at LewAllen Contemporary, Steve Klein's glass art is a lovely blend of colors, shapes and stripes made even more captivating by the sunset streaming through the gallery's window.
Canyon Road is quite picturesque but also quite overwhelming, as it is lined with about 100 galleries. Starting at the Paseo de Peralta end of Canyon Road, I was instantly smitten by the artists featured at Coady Contemporary (205 Canyon). Brian Scott's totemic sculptures are rectangles of glass encased in aluminum. The glass is purposefully cracked and looks structurally unstable, which gives the sculptures the alluring look of imperfection. Another artist, Phil Lichtenhan, makes nests out of steel wires and materials he finds discarded along the road. He then places high-fired clay eggs in the nests, creating a sharp contrast. Also on display is the distinctive jewelry of metalsmith Kristin Lora, whose pieces range from her simple Circle Cluster Collection to her whimsical Glass Tube Collection, which features tiny figures encased in glass tubes.
coadycontemporary.com
Altermann Galleries (225 Canyon) offers traditional Western paintings and Pueblo pottery, as well as a stunning bronze sculpture garden in the back that includes pieces by Martha Pettigrew. Her Water Song series depicts Native American women holding an item used in everyday life, such as a water jar or basket. She explains her choice of subjects: "The beauty and souls of the common people hold more interest for me than caliper-measured, idealized figures." In the same building complex is La Mesa of Santa Fe, where I discovered Nancy Udell's clay imprints of manhole covers. Udell was inspired by the artistry she saw underfoot on her walks to her job as a lawyer in Washington, D.C. Her pieces bring attention to the often-ignored, subtle beauty of simple industrial objects.
altermann.com
lamesaofsantafe.com
Although Santa Fe can definitely satiate your art cravings, a trip to the small town of Las Truchas—about an hour's drive along the High Road, midway between Santa Fe and Taos—is a real treat, if only to visit eL Gallery & Studio, the home and studio of artist eRic Luplow. I dropped in as Ludlow was putting the finishing touches on a fiberglass trout that would be auctioned at an event with proceeds benefitting the Las Truchas clinic. His watercolor paintings, described as Sur-folkTM, blend surrealism and folk art to create vivid and often humorous masterpieces you'll fall in love with.
ericluplow.com
Where to Eat
For a casual breakfast or lunch with plenty of New Mexico flair, stop by Pasqual's. The popular restaurant serves "all organic, all the time, with a few minute exceptions." Try the Smoked Trout Hash for breakfast and for lunch the Grilled Salmon Burrito, both are from recipes found in cookbooks available for purchase at the restaurant.
pasquals.com
An elegant dinner at the Anasazi Restaurant, located in the much-lauded Inn of the Anasazi, is a must while in Santa Fe. Executive Chef Martin Rios pleases palates with his flavorsome creations that include Coffee and Molasses Marinated Beef Tenderloin and Grilled Semi Boneless Quail with a Moroccan Spiced Chermoula Glaze, as well as a selection of tantalizing desserts.
innoftheanasazi.com
Where to Relax
One of my favorite parts of my Santa Fe experience was Ten Thousand Waves, a Japanese spa just outside the city. After a Flowing River Stone massage, I spent 85 serene minutes in the private Ichiban bath, where there's an outdoor hot tub surrounded by trees, an indoor cooling berth with a mattress and a dry-heat sauna, which I found to be far more enjoyable than a steam sauna. Alternating between the three areas sans bathing suit, I left the spa radiating warmth. The menu of spa treatments also includes a Nightingale Facial that uses processed nightingale droppings, an ingredient treasured for centuries by Japanese geishas to keep their skin smooth.
tenthousandwaves.com
Where to Stay
The art-filled La Fonda hotel has recently added La Terraza, a new wing with 14 elegantly appointed suites built around a rooftop garden. Request room 703, which has a fabulous view of St. Francis Cathedral from the comfort of the whirlpool tub. Keeping with the hotel's love of art, La Terraza has delightful touches such as wrought iron rabbits along the staircase and intricate tinwork in the bathrooms. Be sure to visit La Plazuela Restaurant for breakfast—a sunlit room surrounded by glass panes, each uniquely painted with chiles, fruits, flowers and animals.
lafondasantafe.com
How to Get There: American Airlines serves Albuquerque, approximately 58 miles away from Santa Fe via Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Visit aa.com.
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