SchoolArts Room

Tres Culturas: Art at the Capitol

By Nancy Walkup, posted on May 11, 2016

The Collection consists of nearly 600 artworks, exhibited in the interior public spaces of the State Capitol Complex (includes main building and Capitol North annex), as well as on the Capitol grounds. The Collection includes paintings, photography, works on paper, sculpture, mixed media, textiles, ceramic and glass works, as well as furniture. In all there are over 600 New Mexico artists represented. The collection is currently valued at over $5.6 million dollars. 

 


Stevie Mack and I are in Santa Fe, planning final details for our upcoming Tres Culturas seminar this summer. Today we visited the New Mexico State Capital, which is filled with artworks from the varied cultures of New Mexico. All the art and handcrafted furniture were created by New Mexico artists and compose The Capitol Art Foundation and Art Collection.

 

 


My personal favorite here is a huge buffalo head, made from recycled materials by Holly Hughes. You have to get really close to see its individual parts, such as in the eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

The eyes are not the same as they are made out of different things.

 

 

 
Paintbrushes form the hair on the buffalo's face.
 

 

The Sancturario de Chimayo is painted on an ostrich egg.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 A detail of the artwork above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The rotunda

 

 
 
A beautiful piece by Charlie Carrillo

 

 

 

And another

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 All kinds of artwork are included.

 

 

 

 

A bust of Pueblo artist Pablita Velarde.

 

 

 

 

And a work by Pablita Velarde's granddaughter Margarete Bagshaw.

 

 

 

 

A work cut from paper.

 

 

 

 
A detail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Detail

 

 

 

Detail

 

 
We can't wait to take our group through the Capital building this summer but you can see the collection online here.