Courtesy Alizon nikiewicz
smoke the moon (616 1/2 Canyon Road, smokethemoon.com) has added a vibrant and youthful and contemporary flair to Canyon Road. As we speak, smoke the moon is exhibiting Low Earth Orbit, a group show featuring more than a dozen artists. And much of the hubbub is attributable to Alison Nitkiewicz, the gallery’s co-director. Originally from Massachusetts, Nitkiewicz earned her BFA in printmaking at Rhode Island School of Design, where she began organizing DIY art events and discovered her passion for curation. We had a moment to speak with Nitkiewicz and get a behind-the-scenes look into the mind of a gallerist. The interview has been edited for clarity and concision. (Adam Ferguson)
So smoke the moon gives off the vibe that you’re out to help emerging artists. Can you walk us through your selection process and what putting a show together looks like?
We show a lot of artists who haven’t necessarily had a solo show before. It’s hard to say exactly what we’re looking for when we’re curating, but I think there’s this common throughline of art that feels very human and feels like it has heart and is coming from a specific unique vision with a distinct style. It’s something that we don’t even really talk about, it’s just kind of understood. We tend to gravitate toward painting, but we’ve done a few sculptural shows, as well ceramics and wood sculpture. We’re also interested in working with artists who have ties to New Mexico, whether they’re living and working in New Mexico, or whether they grew up here. I think to date, around 70% of our artists that we’ve shown in solo or group shows have been based in or have ties to New Mexico. I love a lot of the art on Canyon Road, but I think we are set apart in certain ways because our artwork is sometimes more challenging to the general palette.
What can you tell us about Low Earth Orbit and the inspiration behind it? Is there a common thread that ties this group of artists together?
A lot of the time we’ll have a theme that’s very concrete. We’ve done The Love Show and The Moon Belongs to Everyone, which were love- and moon-themed shows. This one is a little less prescriptive. I think we looked for artists in our orbit, people who we’ve been interested in, who we’ve been following online. And I think there’s a kind of common underlying theme of elevating ordinary objects…there’s this kind of alien, but also Earthly quality to a lot of the work. You’re going to see a lot of paintings, but we also have some really incredible woven sculptures, mosaics, ceramics and glass work. It’s definitely one of our most eclectic and colorful group shows. We’re showing 13 artists, eight of whom are from New Mexico. It’s a wild and fun show.
Why should smoke the moon be on people’s permanent gallery radar?
It’s great to be in a neighborhood that is filled with galleries and people specifically coming here to see art. It’s been great exposure-wise, and it also has a level of intentionality. We get a lot of people who visit Santa Fe and are like, ‘everyone told me to go to your gallery. I love your stuff!’ But it’s definitely been challenging at times. I think everyone has experienced a kind of a dip in art sales in the last few years with inflation and COVID and buying items that are for pleasure. But another huge factor of our program is that we do two to three art fairs a year. We did a show in September in New York, which was amazing, and we’re going to Miami in December and doing an untitled art fair. So that really helps get our name out there and connect with collectors who are interested in our program and it’s made it feel like we’re a gallery on the world scale. We want to create a welcoming environment for people of all walks of life, whether it’s artists or collectors or people just interested in art. We try to make our shows feel approachable and fun. We don’t want to be a gallery that’s intimidating. People connect at the openings and various artist talks and other events that we have. So not only do people get a chance to see really groundbreaking new art, it’s also a place to connect with artists and people who are just interested in art.
