Courtesy Beals & Co.
Y ou may have seen David Santiago’s ethereal lady-portraits, which cover Tractor Brewing Company beer cans and the Gnar Chow food truck often parked outside State Capital Kitchen. You may have also seen his work in one of many exhibits around New Mexico. But you probably missed a detail the artist includes in every one of his works: “Hiding freckles as star constellations in the face has always been a secret signature tying all my pieces together,” Santiago divulges.
Zodiac, a solo exhibit of Santiago's work opening Friday at Beals & Co. Showroom, features 12 new portraits, and each has a glowing addition: fiber optic illumination. Specific marks on these ladies' faces are threaded with light, creating a star-like constellation on every countenance. "I wanted to find a way to bring it to life more," says Santiago of his beauty mark additions, "So, I dug a little bit deeper into it and thought about lighting the piece up. I did a couple of experiments about a year ago and just fell in love with the idea."
As its title suggests, each constellation corresponds to a zodiac sign. And though Santiago isn't a diehard astrologer, he says he looks at his horoscope sometimes. "Only on bad days," he tells SFR. "Like, is this meant to be? We'll see if it's lined up in the stars. Sometimes, it's eerie; it explains your life, or maybe that week, to a T. Or sometimes someone's personality. … I think there's something really interesting about it." He blended typical zodiacal traits into the looks on his subjects' faces.
It's not hard to imagine falling in love with these luminescent paintings, which portray ladies floating in a nest of dark hair, giving the lustrous pieces a swimming-in-the-stars vibe; but, Santiago takes it one step further by incorporating an interactive element. "All the pieces come with remote controls. You can take the remote off the wall and control the piece and make it do what you want it to," he says. " I try to create depth in my work, and I think this adds to that and gives a more three-dimensional quality to it." (Maria Egolf-Romero)
5 pm Friday July 28. Free.
Beals & Co. Showroom,
830 Canyon Road,
357-0441
Job-pera
Dario Acosta for Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera receives its fair share of national and international acclaim as it is, but with the recent world premiere of
The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs
, both the opera and tech worlds are all a-twitter. A careful examination of Jobs’ life—both good and bad—unfolds in the new work from composer Mason Bates, and even opera-phobes can find something to love within the contemporary musicality of the production. Sure, Jobs seems an odd subject for the opera world, but with an open mind and willingness to stray from the classics, this could be the start of something big. (Alex De Vore)
The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs:
8:30 pm Wednesday July 26. $94-$310.
Santa Fe Opera.
301 Opera Drive,
986-5900
Super-Mercado
Courtesy Manitou Galleries
With Traditional Spanish Market and Contemporary Hispanic Market just around the corner, Santa Fe galleries embrace the annual events with shows of their own. One such fine offering comes in the form of a three-artist exhibition from local champs Alvin Gill-Tapia, Arthur Lopez and Miguel Martinez. From gorgeous paintings of New Mexico landmarks to wooden santeros and representations of women, each follows in the footsteps of their forebears and inspirations—but each finds new ground or, at the very least, new angles through which they examine New Mexico’s artistic, cultural and physical landscapes. (ADV)
Alvin Gill-Tapia, Arthur Lopez and Miguel Martinez: Spanish Market Show:
5 pm Thursday July 27. Free.
Manitou Galleries,
123 W Palace Ave.,
986-0440
A Rose is a Rose is a Rose
Courtesy rosespawnshop.com
Trek to Madrid to have your face rocked off by consummate New Mexico-lovers Rose’s Pawn Shop, the Grammy-nominated Los Angeles quintet known for adding a healthy dose of punk and rock to their bluegrassy, Americana-ish songs of heartache, love, loss and the human condition. The sounds may be well-known to Santa Feans (and the denizens of surrounding areas), but the execution is not—this is a far more high-energy affair than our usual offerings, and one worth hitting the one-time coal mining town. The tavern has a pretty solid burger, too. (ADV)
7 pm Sunday July 30. $10.
Mine Shaft Tavern,
2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid,
473-0743
