(est. 1997); and, anchoring a burgeoning contemporary art sector, SITE Santa Fe (est. 1995). International avant-garde contemporary art had a presence here before the opening of SITE Santa Fe in 1995. However, this powerful kunsthalle (exhibition space)—a former beer distribution warehouse—spawned a contemporary-art renaissance, reinvigorating the significance of “nowness” in the city’s presence in the art world. True to its history as an outpost of the East Coast art world, Santa Fe reinforced the city’s reputation as a desirable destination among international artists, curators and patrons. Like artists, galleries benefit from critical mass. Despite the disparate art offered by the more than 200 galleries, the fact is that you can throw a tortilla and hit a gallery. Our city has more galleries per capita than New York City. This heavy concentration of galleries shows and sells the work of living artists—which is precisely how and why the Santa Fe art scene began in the early 1900s. As with any genesis, the beginning of Santa Fe’s contemporary gallery scene is difficult to pinpoint. In a 1989 interview, artist/architect William Lumpkins recalled The Barn Gallery on Canyon Road as “the first kind of modern gallery” in Santa Fe, and Lorraine Mattocks’ Painters Gallery as “the first attempt really to show contemporary art.” Both establishments were active in the 1950s and 1960s. Other long-time residents recall the Hill’s Gallery, which operated 1971–1981, as the first “real” contemporary space. Whatever the genesis of Santa Fe’s modern art market, its focus has primarily been living artists—and art to live with. As the gallery scene expanded, the earliest galleries were concentrated on Canyon Road in converted adobe homes. Human in scale and with the recognizable layout 40
of a residence, a Canyon Road gallery presents an environment analogous to a potential client’s own home. In contrast, downtown galleries reflected the business character of the Plaza area. Instead of squat and charming, the downtown gallery is a storefront, sometimes more than one story, that reflects a more-or-less urban environment with the requisite Santa Fe–style stucco. In 2008, galleries in the revamped Santa Fe Railyard opened, or reopened, as the case may be, for business. They are housed in warehouse-like structures true to the character of the buildings that occupied the Railyard in decades previous. Artists have long transformed cities’ industrial areas into creative meccas—think of the manufacturing and textile buildings turned into lofts in SoHo, or the warehousesturned-galleries in Tribeca. Santa Fe followed the example of major urban centers with its own renditions of the process. Despite Santa Fe’s cachet as a vital art center, the recession has taken a toll on its art market, as it has on every other industry and locale across the nation. Institutions have tightened their belts, some galleries have closed their doors, and tourism has taken a hit. Yet, remarkably, some new galleries have opened their doors, and newcomer SOFA West (Sculpture Objects & Functional Art) has joined the venerable ART Santa Fe in the arena of Santa Fe art fairs. In order to outlive the economic downturn, galleries have changed how they do business, a common strategy these days in just about every industry. But most importantly, alternatives such as the private-dealer model have emerged. The salon remains a tried-and-true alternative today. Its esteemed history in New Mexico includes Mabel Dodge Luhan’s famous gatherings of her era’s cultural intelligentsia at her home in Taos. Other alternatives include grassroots initiatives for emerging artists, such as
A visitor examines Sakiyama Takayuki's work in the Joan B. Mirviss, Ltd., New York, booth at SOFA WEST 2010