Encompass 2025 - Exhibition Catalog by Harwood Art Center

MARCH 6 - APRIL 12, 2025

2025 marks the 100th anniversary of our historic campus. We are commemorating the occasion with a year of public programming that looks back on a century of creative expression, and also imagines new futures.

Harwood Art Center and Escuela del Sol Montessori are pleased to present Encompass, a unique multi-generational art event that takes place annually. Featuring five invitational exhibitions, open studios, free hands-on art activities, live music, food trucks, and activities for all ages. Encompass is both a reflection of and an offering to our community; this year’s theme is Echoes & Dreams.

Cover: Gael Luna, School & Campus Dreams; Above Photos Encompass Event Photos by Hallee Nguyen

ECHOES & DREAMS

Echoes & Dreams features commissioned installations that showcases esteemed artists whose work is inspired by history, imagines new futures, and explores time beyond a linear framework.

Artists:

Celine Gordon

Sofie Hecht

Mariah Rosales

Phoenix Savage

Jessica Zekus

“celine gordon

Earthbound Tarot is a unique tarot deck that bridges the natural world and human experience through the use of handmade earth pigments. These images are deeply connected to New Mexico’s landscapes, painted with rocks foraged from the region which have been transformed into vibrant watercolor paints. The process involves grinding the foraged rocks into fine dust, which is then mixed with natural binders to create rich, earthy pigments.

New Mexico has a rich artistic history around earth pigments: Diné and Puebloan people utilize earth pigments like red ochre, yellow ochre, and white kaolin clay to create vibrant murals and pottery designs. Similarly, the Santeros of northern New Mexico craft tempura paint from earth pigments and plant matter to create retablos and bultos. Celine embraces these methods to honor traditions passed down through generations while emphasizing the importance of preserving and revitalizing our cultural heritage.

The deck features 78 original paintings, with each card depicting an archetype of human experience. The Major Arcana explores universal themes like transformation, love, enlightenment, and renewal. These images also include the landscapes where the rocks were foraged from, creating a strong connection between the process and the end-result. Together, these cards span a journey from ignorance to wisdom, speaking to both the sacred and mundane parts of life.

Earthbound Tarot will be printed and officially launched in mid-summer. To learn more about the deck or to participate in the upcoming Kickstarter campaign for its printing, visit www.offgridstudio.net.”

sofie hecht

Detonated in Southern New Mexico on July 16, 1945, Trinity’s residual fallout traveled as far as Canada, Mexico, and 46 U.S. states. Half a million people lived within the primary 150 square-mile radiation zone of the world’s first atomic bomb. A Matter of When is a photographic and documentary exploration of the New Mexicans who live downwind of Trinity and continue to experience the effects of radiation exposure. 80 years later, the legacy of the Trinity test lives on in astounding rates of cancer and illness in these communities. This project uses archival materiality—from family photographs, letters, documents, interviews—to represent the deterioration of land and bodies exposed to radiation.

The Downwinders commonly say “We don’t ask if we’re going to get cancer, we ask when.” Whether through a corroded family archive, oral histories, or photographs of domestic life, this work aims to embolden collective visions of future and challenge imposed versions of Time. As we attempt to preserve memory and history, how do we decide what is remembered? Who makes those decisions? This work follows the lead of family matriarchs who don’t rest until everything sacred is well-maintained, until the bits and pieces of their family’s past are securely fastened into photo albums, inscribed into history books, told boisterously around the dinner table, and made immortal. With the act of documentation is a belief that these stories deserve to live into the future, a project of preservation for the future of these communities.”

mariah rosales

For me, art is a means of navigating the complex terrain of personal and collective memory. In this work, I delve into themes of generational trauma, the cycles of loss, and the echoes of past experiences that resonate through time. These themes are not bound to a linear framework but stretch across the past, present, and imagined futures, forming a fluid, interconnected narrative.

Encompass: Echoes & Dreams invites me to explore the tension between history and the possibilities of transformation. My art reflects the dual nature of time: the weight of what has been inherited and the potential for breaking cycles to forge a new path forward. Through the blending of abstract and figurative forms, I aim to represent the fractured, nonlinear nature of memory and the ongoing process of healing.

The work in this exhibition is an exploration of what it means to confront the past, honor the trauma that has shaped us, and reimagine the future we have the power to create. I seek to offer a space where viewers can engage with their own histories, reflect on the cycles they inherit, and recognize the potential for change that exists within us all.”

phoenix savage

The statement “the chickens come home to roost” entered my consciousness when I read the Autobiography of Malcolm X. In short his statement referenced the assassination of President Kennedy and the concept behind the nocturnal habits of chickens to always return home. The statement served as the rubicon of Malcolm’s relationship with the Nation of Islam. This installation is far more interested in the viewer connecting their personal rubicon with the present wave of imperialism that engulfs us globally and especially here in the United States. Do the chickens make it home before home is destroyed? Do we all really drink from the same poisoned well and thus “Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them, saith the Lord.” Do the buffalo survive while waiting on the wrath of God? Do any of us survive? As the chickens return nightly are we assured of redemption? The installation is not an answer but a visual question to a collective scenario that in spite of what some may believe, we are all impacted and sooner or later wrongdoers do receive their just reward. As in when the chickens come home to roost.”

jessica zekus

My work celebrates childhood and our earliest memories. Our minds have an amazing capacity to recall the moments in our lives when we were the most emotionally affected. Some moments we cherish, while others we would rather forget. Our memories of both extremes contribute to shaping who we are, how we see ourselves, and how we perceive others.

Through the process of coiling and keeping within the ceramics tradition, I have crafted child vessel forms. Each form begins with a pair of awkward feet and concludes with a deliberately curious gesture. The exterior surface records the impression of my thumb as it glides along the ropes of clay. This surface looks knit-together as the coils wrap around each curve and bind every limb. By specifically crafting an archetype of the child figure to be believable rather than literal, I push how figurative a vessel can be. My result is the abstract figure. My work conveys childhood as perceived by the passage of time and the distortion of memory. These ceramic figures exist in a peculiar reality that hovers somewhere between an unconscious daydream and a nostalgic experience.

When we ponder our days of youth gone by, our reflections radiate emotions of joy as well as sadness, the tenderness of love as well as the pain of loss. What significance do we place on childhood? How do we grapple with our memories? Do we cling to them or do we leave them in the past as we approach the future?”

WHAT IS YOURS IN NOT

By Elton Burgest & Lisa Co

In What is Yours is not Yours, Lisa Co and Elton Burgest explore the breadth of themes connected to both physical fences and non-physical fences. Lisa Co explores language’s relationship to identity through visual poetry – mutating and chopping sentences to reform linguistic borders in relation to her first generation American and biracial experiencs. Elton Burgest portrays metaphors of morality through spiritual imagery that include representational digital paintings.

“Separation is ubiquitous. Every aspect of public space, from the borders of a country to the fence between two neighbor’s properties, is demarcated by a line – real or unreal. Fences, walls and borders symbolize many things beyond separation, they can mean exclusion, safety, status. Non-physical fences delineate poverty vs affluence, digital life vs physical life, us vs them. Language is a fence that separates through cultures, education, neighborhoods, even social class. A fence (real or unreal) can both separate and encircle or bind together a population, collection or space. In this way, separation works as a paradox, something that can be had through not having, or vice versa.”

YOURS

Lisa Co, What is Yours is Not Yours, Aziza Murray & Harwood Art Center 2025, All Rights

Elton Burgest and Lisa Co present their personal stories of separation, boundaries and fences by fusing familiar elements of culturally specific forms, symbols and mediums to create innovative works in contemporary context. Burgest’s works function as a conduit to communicate community rituals, experiences and feelings on African American Christianity. This exhibit balances Burgest’s emotional, religious tableaus and the visceral aesthetics of Co’s woodcut and printed works. The pieced apart works present themes of separation and togetherness – an ability to become whole while also being apart. Burgest’s digital paintings are cut to pieces and posted in the manner of flyers to fence structures to highlight the wholeness of a community in spite of personal and political adversity. Co’s irregular book forms and sequential print imagery are experienced as individuals and as a body of work. The interplay of the austere presence of Burgest’s sculptures with the dispersed nature of Co’s paper works as well as seeing the repeated images as a part and as a whole provides a rhythmic arrangement for the viewer. The sense of opposite scales of work highlight each artist’s voice and reference the breadth of emotional experience within each boundary. Both Elton Burgest and Lisa Co address themes of boundaries as more than physical occurrences; instead they see them as a maze of identity, as positive and negative bindings, as emotional borders.

Elton Burgest and Lisa Co met at Florida State University. Burgest received his BFA in 2018 while Co received her MFA the same year. Elton Burgest is originally from Tallahassee and continues to live and work in his home town as a graphic designer and professional artist. Lisa Co grew up on the SouthEast coast of Georgia and relocated to Florida for school. She continues to live and work in Gainesville, FL as an Assistant Professor of Art at Florida Gateway College.

ECHOES OF THE PAST

By Escuela Del Sol Montessori Students

What kind of stories can you find in a one hundred year old building? Escuela students, led by Jr. High, imagine the ghosts and sprites that might be wending their way through the halls of Harwood.

Every year, Escuela Junior High students present an exhibition proposal to Harwood Staff inpired by the Encompass theme. The exhibitions are designed, created and installed with the mentorship of their Art Studio Guide, Chirsty Cook.

harwood outreach and collaborative program artists SHELTER

Harwood’s current social practice project is called Shelter and centers ideas of home, safety and survival in response to Albuquerque’s housing crisis. Food, water and shelter are basic needs every one of us shares.

Shelter invites people of all viewpoints and experiences to consider housing as a human right while they embellish Tyvek houses with art and poetry. This is an all ages collaborative project and we ask participants to leave their houses with us so they can be included in an installation for an exhibition at Harwood and elsewhere in the community.

Thank you to partnering organizations, People’s Housing Project ano the Interfaith Housing Coalition and to our funding partners City of Albuquerque and Albuquerque Community Foundation, and to more than 100 participating artists.

harwood + escuela staff artists, teaching artists and studio artists ALL TOGETHER

AllTogether is an exhibition of work made by Harwood Art Center’s extended community reflecting our organization’s mission to nurture a passion for lifelong learning, creative expression and engaged citizenship.

Participating Artists:

Helen Atkins

Jasper Bragg

Jen DePaolo

Ereesa

Karen Mazur

Amy Mann

Margot Geist

Lea Anderson

Deb Wozniak

Len Follick

Donna Romano

Lindsay Brenner

Shawn Turung

Hallee Nguyen

Ricardo Guillermo

Chandler Wigton

Natalie Voelker

Jordyn Renteria

Chloe Dichter

Sandra Munoz-Puga

Mika Maloney

Ivan Boyd

Susan Roden

Connor Swayden

Sarah Raupagh

Shaelyn Moody

Aziza Murray

Jordan Merlino

JAN

Harwood Art Center is dedicated to providing exhibition, audience expansion and professional development opportunities to working artists. 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of Harwood’s historic campus. We are commemorating the occasion with a year of public programming that reflects on a century of creative expression and imagines new futures. For more information visit: harwoodartcenter.org

JANUARY

16 - FEBRUARY 22

Between Dust & Stars: The Artists of ArtStreet, ABQ Health Care for the Homeless Harwood Art Center and ArtStreet of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless co-present Between Dust & Stars: Echoes of the High Desert, a collection of works by the artists of ArtStreet featuring surrealist landscapes and imagery honoring the past, the present and the future. This marks the 28th anniversary of this annual exhibition partnership.

Reception: Saturday, February 1 | 4:30 - 6:30pm

MAR

MARCH

6 - APRIL 12

ENCOMPASS: A Multi-Generational Art Event

An annual celebration that is both a reflection of and an offering to our community, Encompass features Open Studios, art making activities, installations by student artists, and five invitational exhibitions, including Echoes & Dreams with commissioned installations by Celine Gordon, Sofie Hecht, Mariah Rosales, Phoenix Savage, Jessica Zekus and What is Yours is Not Yours by Elton Burgest and Lisa Co.

Reception: Saturday, April 12 | 4:30 - 7:30pm

APR

APRIL

24 - MAY 31

Poetry in Place: Placemaking and Poetry in Albuquerque

This exhibit is equal parts celebration, preservation and commemoration of a critical moment in time for the literary and spoken word community in New Mexico. It presents a diverse spectrum of artifacts and experiences, honoring the history between the spoken word community and Harwood.

Reception: Saturday, April 26 | 4:30 - 6:30pm

JUN

JUNE 12 - JULY 26

SURFACE: Emerging Artists of New Mexico

SURFACE: Emerging Artists of New Mexico is the annual juried exhibition, endowed awards and professional development program presented by Harwood Art Center, to support the creative and professional growth of emerging artists and to expand their visibility and viability in our community.

Inga Hendrickson: Surface 2024 Solo Exhibition Award Winner

Reception + Artist Talk + Awards: Saturday, June 21 | 4:30 - 6:30pm

Harwood offers four annual recurring exhibition programs:

1 ENCOMPASS a Multi-Generational Art Event

2 SURFACE Emerging Artists of New Mexico

3 RESIDENCY for Art & Social Justice

4 12x12 Annual Fundraiser; all proceeds support our free community arts education, outreach and professional development

AUG

Practice // Portal

AUGUST

7 - SEPTEMBER 13

A group exhibition featuring five Harwood Studio Artists — Aziza Murray, Reyes Padilla, MB Ramos, Natalie Voelker and Chelsea Wrightson — whose work is inspired by memory, offers meditation, and moves towards the future.

Shared.Futures: A Compendium of ArtScience Collaboration

Shared.Futures is a four-month workshop where artist and scientist pairs co-create an ArtScience piece which communicates a scientific possibility through an artistic lens. This exhibition highlights work from 2021 to 2024.

Reception + Artist Talks: Saturday, August 23 | 4:30 - 6:30pm

SEPT

Artist in Residence

SEPTEMBER 25 - NOVEMBER 1

Harwood’s Artist in Residence Program supports artists working at the intersections of creative expression and social justice. The year long residency includes a private studio at Harwood, artist and material honoraria, project support and public exhibitions.

Jocelyn Salaz: Encountering Masculinity

2025 Resident artist Jocelyn Salaz explores masculinity through the lens of the performative theory of gender.

Reception + Artist Talk: Saturday, October 18 | 4:30 - 6:30pm

DEC

DECEMBER

5 - 13

12x12: Harwood’s Annual Fundraising Exhibitions

12x12, 6x6 and The Shop at Harwood feature original work by established, emerging and youth artists from New Mexico. This event includes ~200 works that remain anonymous until sold, for the flat rates of $144 (12”x12”) or $36 (6”x6”). The Shop highlights the intersections of art, design and daily living with works by notable New Mexico artists.

Exhibition Reception: Friday, December 5 | 5:30pm - 7:30pm 12x12 Online Store Opens: Saturday, December 6 | 6:00pm

Image Credits: (Left, Top to Bottom): Elton Burgest, Spiral (2022); Between Dust & Stars: the artists of ArtStreet installation 2025, Image by Aziza Murray; Shared.Futures Organizers, Shared.Futures Weavings I; Inga Hendrickson, Bundled Set, Image by Aziza Murray; (Center): Jessica Zekus, We all need prayers; (Right, Top to Bottom): Jocelyn Salaz, Remedio (side 1); Chelsea Wrightson, Quantum Vision #25; For the Love of Poetry ABQ, Sister Outsider—Dominique Christina and Denice Frohman — nationally renowned female poets will be part of a night of poetry at the Harwood Art Center, The Shop Image Credit: Zahra Marwan, handprinted T-shirt

Shop at Harwood is a

for a

Shop: harwoodstore.square.site

The

boutique gallery currently representing the following artists

calendar year: Catherine Alleva, Loren Aragon, Ereesa, Stephanie Baness, Carrie Botto, Jenn Carrillo, Cheryl Dietz, Celine Gordon, Leigh Oviatt and Emily Silva

ABOUT HARWOOD ART CENTER

HARWOOD ART CENTER’S GALLERIES

is dedicated to providing exhibition, audience expansion and professional development opportunities to artists working in any media and from diverse creative fields. Our gallery program is curated and managed by our Chief Programs Officer and Associate Directors of Opportunity and Engagement. Artists are invited to exhibit during three of our annual capstone events, Encompass, Residency for Art & Social Justice & 12x12, the rest of our exhibitions are awarded to individuals and groups through a competitive application process. Most of our applications are free to apply, any collected fees allocated to replenishing Harwood’s endowed cash awards for the program. Each featured exhibition is a supportive process, we work with the artists from concept development to installation in the galleries. For our 2021 exhibiting artists, we have developed a hybrid offering of both in person and virtual programming. For each exhibition we create comprehensive outreach and digital materials including exhibition catalogs, virtual galleries and artist talks to support the unique visions and voices of our gallery artists.

Seeded in 1991, Harwood Art Center blooms the philosophy of our parent organization Escuela del Sol Montessori, with recognition that learning and expression offer the most resilient pathways to global citizenship, justice and peace. Harwood engages the arts as a catalyst for lifelong learning, cultural enrichment and social change, with programming for every age, background and income level. We believe that equitable access to the arts and opportunities for creative expression are integral to healthy individuals and thriving communities. In all of our work, we cultivate inclusive, reflective environments where everyone feels cared for. We nurture long-term, multi-faceted relationships with participants, building programs with and for diverse communities of Albuquerque. We integrate the arts with social justice, professional and economic growth, and education to cultivate a higher collective quality of life in New Mexico.

HARWOOD ART CENTER’S OFFICIAL GALLERY & EXHIBITION PHOTOGRAPHER

We are so thrilled to have an official Harwood Photographer for our galleries program this year! We are able to present the SURFACE Emerging Artists of NM Award and Microgrant of $250 to each of this year’s artists thanks to the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund, New Mexico Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and the McCune Foundation.

Aziza Murray is a New Mexico based artist working primarily in photography. In 2015 she graduated with an MFA from the University of New Mexico where she also worked as a pictorial archiving fellow for the Center for Southwest Research. Since then, Aziza has worked in different capacities in the film industry in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, further piquing her interest in cinematography. Much of her work stems from a well of nostalgia for objects and moments, the materiality of photography, and her personal history—from experiencing tragic loss at an early age, to her multilayered experiences as a biracial person growing up in Washington, DC. She has shown her work in DC at Connersmith and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, in Albuquerque at the Harwood Art Center, the UNM Art Museum and the National Hispanic Cultural Center and, at MASS Gallery in Austin, TX.

azizamurray.com azizamurray@gmail.com

Many thanks to our genrous supporting partners: Albuquerque Art Business Association / ARTScrawl, Albuquerque Community Foundation, Downtown Neighborhood Association, McCune Charitable Foundation, New Mexico Arts and National Endowment for the Arts, City of Albuquerque Urban Enhancement Trust Fund, US Bank, and A Good Sign. Special thanks to Nusenda Foundation and Sandia Foundation for support of our Creative Roots program and to Fay Abrams and to Debi & Clint Dodge for support of our exhibiting and commission artists. As well as to Marion & Kathryn Crissey and Reggie Gammon for establishing our endowed awards for this program, and to Meghan Ferguson Mráz and Valerie Roybal for their unwavering support and constant inspiration – and for whom we named new annual awards in 2019. SURFACE would not be possible without our extraordinary local collaborators.