This year, I want to bring to light a few of the hidden art-centric gems of Santa Fe that are not always your traditional gallery situations, as well as point out some of the groovy things going on at some better-known artsy haunts. After all, in the interstitial spaces between institutionalized aesthetics and emergent creative expression lies the true dialectic of our cultural moment—or as I like to call it, the places where art hasn’t yet been priced into absurdity.
Courtesy GGP Gallery
Material Girl
Gerald Peters Contemporary unveils Material Girl: Pop Culture and the Female Gaze (June 13), showcasing six innovative artists. “Using Pop Art’s vocabulary of familiar imagery and bold colors, these artists examine gender, sexuality, materialism and commodification through personal histories and contemporary cultural contexts,” notes the gallery statement. The exhibition features works by Dorielle Caimi, Nicole Cudzilo, Angela Ellsworth, Esther Elia, Hattie Mendoza and video artist Jennifer Juniper Stratford, each bringing a unique perspective that challenges traditional narratives through the female gaze.
Provided
Daniel Cooney Fine Art unveils George Dureau’s intimate portraiture, bringing New Orleans’ hidden counterculture to Santa Fe for the first time in George Dureau, Photographs (May 31). This collection of 40 black-and-white photographs reveals a world beyond tourist brochures, where drag performers, disabled individuals and street hustlers found sanctuary in Dureau’s studio. Unlike photographers who exploit marginalized subjects, Dureau’s work reflects his genuine connections and mutual respect with his subjects. Through formal compositional rigor, he transforms societal outcasts into figures of classical dignity and enduring power.
Santa Fe’s Station 5 Micro-Gallery presents two distinctive summer exhibitions for 2025. ACCUMULATION (June 7) features influential creative duo Michael Sumner and Melody Sumner Carnahan, whose artistic legacy spans over four decades since founding weirdo publishing company Burning Books in 1979. Their assemblages transform collected everyday objects into powerful artistic statements reflecting their commitment to meaningful artistic production.
August brings THE NARROW LINE TO THE INTERIOR (August 2), drawing inspiration from Japanese poet Bashō, where artists Edie Tsong, David Leigh and Masha Sha explore mark-making as pathways into zones of mystery and imagination. Their works invite viewers to discover how simple lines create profound experiences.
ELECTR∆ Gallery’s upcoming group show The Third Way (July 11), explores mysticism through a distinctly queer lens. The exhibition delves into how mystic traditions seek transcendence past material reality, aiming to harmonize masculine and feminine energies, a convergence that manifests a perspective existing outside binary constraints. This “third way” can resonate with both queer identity and spiritual transformation. Note: Visitors are advised that achieving spiritual transcendence may result in temporary astral projection, so please secure all belongings and avoid operating heavy machinery for at least two hours after viewing.
One of Santa Fe’s newest additions hosts an exhibition of new works by Tim Jag (June 12), a creative fixture in Santa Fe. His trademark colorful, hard-edged geometric style paintings demonstrate a recurring knack for crafting novel, captivating arrangements that draw us in and maintain our fascination. Ellsworth Kelly ain’t got nothing on Tim Jag. The gallery also celebrates its first anniversary (July 11-13) with a three-day festival featuring L.A. artist Meagan Boyd, Dixon Rand fashion installations, and Psychic Stitch chain stitching demonstrations.
Pie Projects presents MOMENTUM (June 14), brandishing seven gifted artists alongside the prestigious 12th SITE SANTA FE International (née Biennial). The exhibition spotlights Florence Miller Pierce’s “Clouds,” a collection of large resin reliefs unseen since the artist’s death in 2007. Daisy Quezada Ureña’s innovative and occasionally uncomfortable slip porcelain installations will also grace the gallery with their misleading simplicity. Both artists were selected for the International by curator Cecilia Alemani. The exhibition lineup includes Jane Lackey, Signe Stuart and Judy Tuwaletstiwa exploring materiality through hand-sewn paper and mixed media, while Lua Brice and August Muth transform perceptions with crystalline titanium paintings and mesmerizing holographic etchings.
Courtesy Turner Carroll Gallery
Turner Carroll Gallery showcases Clarence Heyward (July 18), a bright new voice rapidly on the ascent in the art world. His delicate, refined brush approach stands at odds with his bold thematic focus, tackling issues from swimming access barriers historically imposed on Black communities, to aggression toward Black men and the nuanced journey of guiding Black youth through modern American reality. His thoughtful pieces blend aesthetic finesse with a very timely, direct societal examination. Also at Turner Carroll, an internationally touring exhibition of works by Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot (June 28). Tolokonnikova creates confrontational art against Russian authoritarianism, enduring prison and multiple arrests while amplifying truth through her guerrilla performances. Tolokonnikova is slated to give a presentation at the opening on June 28.
Michael Scott’s exhibition, Habitat and the Preternatural (June 27), showcases grand compositions where wildlife stands as powerful sentinels of environmental change. Stags, wolves and polar bears dominate scenes that blend stunning visuals with ecological unease. Scott juxtaposes elemental forces—fire, water, earth and air—creating a compelling tension throughout his work. His luminous colors and detailed technique demand in-person viewing, transforming observers into witnesses of the natural systems that both sustain and threaten our world.
If you haven’t already noticed, Santa Fe has its own little version of Jonas Mekas’ Anthology Film Archives happening under the radar. Piloted by Justin Clifford Rhody and Abigail Smith since its inception in 2021, No Name Cinema has been presenting experimental, avant-garde and repertory films, as well as rotating visual art exhibitions that are newly installed every three months. One of No Name’s many upcoming offerings is a 4K Restoration of Nina Menkes’ Queen of Diamonds from 1991. Menkes has created an uncompromising body of work over 30 years. Her visually stunning films explore female subjectivity and isolation with compositional rigor. She may even be considered the 1990s equivalent of Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman. With each screening presented only once, and often with accompanying short films beforehand, if you snooze, you lose.
