"Ideal & Martinelli" The Wright Contemporary, Taos NM

Ideal & Martinelli

In all my years as an art journalist and dedicated observer of the international scene, I’ve watched movements come and go. The Pictures Generation, Appropriation Art, Neo Geo, Digital Art, NFTs, and now AI-generated art….some made the history books; others will be footnotes. Or forgotten forever.

But what never seems to go away is good painting. If you include the prehistoric cave paintings in Europe, Indonesia, and elsewhere, human beings have been smearing substances on surfaces to produce startling images for tens of thousands of years, and I feel fairly confident in predicting that as long as there is sentient life (and I am less confident about our survival as a species), there will be paint and painters.

Two I’ve had on my radar for more than a decade are Phillis Ideal and Tom Martinelli, both from Santa Fe. Tom is an émigré from the East Coast, who’s made a few spiritual journeys on both sides of the continent, and Phillis’s roots are in New Mexico, though she also spends time at her studio in New York. You can read more about them in the profiles I posted on Vasari21 (Phillis / Tom)

They have been dedicated to the disciplines of abstraction for nearly their entire careers and have experimented with both geometrical and lyrical impulses, often producing outstanding work. The Wright Contemporary is pleased to present mini-surveys of both artists through April 8, 2023.

Martinelli originally hails from New York, where he studied at the School of Visual Arts and Hunter College with artists such as Elizabeth Murray, Susan Rothenberg, Ron Gorchov and Sandy Wurmfeld, and was soon showing with the prestigious dealer Julian Pretto. He moved to the Santa Fe area in 2006, and worked with the late Nancy Holt, a founding mother of the Earthworks movement. He is a devoted student of meditation, and many of this works have a transcendent, contemplative aura.

Ideal grew up in the open spaces of Roswell, NM, but in the late 1960s gravitated to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she embraced the political ideologies of the time and received an MFA from the University of California at Berkeley. Mentors and teachers included Peter Volkos, Joan Brown, and Elmer Bischoff. In the early 1980s she moved to New York City, and has been involved in the East Coast art world ever since. She has had more than 20 solo shows, including the de Young Museum, and exhibited in major museums and galleries in San Francisco, Santa Fe and New York, as well as in Europe. She now divides her time between Santa Fe and New York City.

Ann Landi Director, The Wright Contemporary Taos, New Mexico

Photo: Gene Peach Photography

Phillis Ideal

Host 2002, Acrylic, poured house paint, collage on canvas, 20 x 20 in.

Splish Splash 2001, Acrylic, poured house paint, collage on canvas, 30 x 30 in.

Smoke and Peach Construction 2023, Acrylic, collage on canvas, 20 x 16 in.

Brown Spots 2016, Acrylic, spray paint, collage on panel (framed), 20 x 16 in.

Above left: Faux 2001, Acrylic, poured house paint, collage on canvas, 12 x 10 in.

Above Right: Ooze 1999, Acrylic, poured house paint, collage on canvas, 12 x 10 in.

Above left: Overdrawn 2001, Acrylic, poured house paint, collage on canvas, 12 x 10 in.

Above right: Strip Tease 2001, Acrylic, poured house paint, collage on canvas, 12 x 10 in.

Red Icon 2019, Acrylic, spray paint, resin and collage on panel (framed), 14 x 11 in.

Blue Stand 2021, Acrylic, spray paint collage on canvas, 16 x 20 in.

2015, Acrylic, spray paint, collage on canvas, 30 x 30 in.

Night Fall 2015, Acrylic, spray paint, collage on canvas, 30 x 30 in.

Hold That Line Series, Yellow and Black Constraint 2020, Acrylic, spray paint, collage on canvas (framed), 24 x 24 in.

(Above left) Icon Group Series: #2 2018, Acrylic, spray paint, resin and collage on panel, 14 x 11 in.

(Above right) Icon Group Series: #1 2018, Acrylic, spray paint, resin and collage on panel, 14 x 14 in.

(Above left) Icon Group Series: #2 2018, Acrylic, spray paint, resin and collage on panel, 14 x 11 in.

(Above right) Icon Group Series: #1 2018, Acrylic, spray paint, resin and collage on panel, 14 x 14 in.

Phillis Ideal in her Santa Fe studio

Portrait photo: Tom Martinelli

Blue Slant 2020 Acrylic, spray paint, collage on canvas (framed) 30 x 40 in.

Blue Borrowed 2019, Acrylic, spray paint, collage on canvas (framed), 30 x 40 in.

Ghost Red 2023, Acrylic, spray paint collage on canvas, 16 x 20 in.

(Above left) iPhone Print Series I, Black and White # 4, 2014, Archival digital print (framed), 34 x 22 in.

Above right) iPhone Print Series II, Black and White #7, 2014, Archival digital print (framed), 34 x 22 in.

(Above left) iPhone Print Series III, Black and White #4, 2022, Archival digital print (framed), 34 x 22 in.

(Above right) iPhone Print Series III, Black and White #3, 2022, Archival digital print (framed), 34 x 22 in.

Phillis Ideal www.phillisideal.com

Born: Roswell, New Mexico

Lives and works in Santa Fe / New York

Museum Exhibitions

M.H. de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA

Newport Harbor Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA

Jonson Gallery, University of New Mexico Museum, Albuquerque, NM

Herbert F Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NYLibrary of the Museum of Modern Art (Special Collections); Metropolitan Museum of Art, The New York Public Library, and The Phillips Collection in Washington holds American Abstract Artist’s 75th Anniversary Print Portfolio, 2010

Fine Arts Museum, Santa Fe, NM

Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM

Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, Roswell, NM

Solo Exhibitions

Wright Contemporary, Ideal / Martinelli Survey Shows, Taos, NM, 2023

G2 Gallery, “Phillis Ideal”, Santa Fe, NM, 2022

New Mexico Museum of Art, “Alcove Show”, Santa Fe, NM, 2021

Roswell Museum and Art Center, “Gestures and Geometry”, Roswell, NM, 2021

Warehouse 1-10, Magdalena, NM “Three Solo Shows”, Magdalena, NM , 2019

David Richard Gallery, “Color Is As Color Does”, Santa Fe, NM, 2017

David Richard Gallery. “Urban Energy”, Santa Fe, NM, 2016

David Richard Gallery, “Copy, Paste and Save”, Santa Fe, NM, 2015

Isaac’s Pipe & Supply Gallery, “Sassy”, curated by Diane Armitage, Roswell, NM, 2013

David Richards Gallery, “Overlay”, Santa Fe, NM 2013

Chiaroscuro Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, 2011, 2009

Painting Center, “Recent Paintings”, New York, NY 2010, 1997

Rosenberg and Kaufman Fine Art, New York, NY, 2004, 2002

Jonson Gallery, University of New Mexico Museum, Albuquerque, NM, 2000

Linda Durham Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, 1991, 1989

Richard Green Gallery, New York, NY, 1987

55 Mercer Street Artists, New York, NY, 1984

Grapestake Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 1984, 1978, 1976

M.H. de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA, 1975

Group Exhibitions

“Blurring Boundaries: The Women of AAA, 1936-Present” (Traveling Exhibition-2018- 2022), Curated by Rebecca DiGiaovanna.

Clara M. Eagle Gallery, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky, 2018

Warner Gallery, South Bend Museum of Art, South Bend, Indiana, 2021

The Baker Museum, Naples, Florida, 2021

LSU of Art, Baton Rouge, LA, 2022

Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury, Connecticut, 2023

Morris-Warren Gallery, “Visible Histories”, curated by Max Weintraub New York, NY, 2016

1285 Avenue of the Americas Gallery “The Onward of Art: American Abstract Artists 80 Anniversary Exhibition”, curated by Karen Wilkin, New York, NY, 2016 (catalog)

Shirley Fiterman Art Center, “Chromatic Space”, curated by Jonathan D. Lippcott, New York, NY, 2016

David Richard Gallery, “Op Infinitum: The Responsive Eye” Fifty years After, Part 1, American Op Art in the 60’s”, Santa Fe, NM 2015

David Richard Gallery, “Gesture: Then and Now: The Legacy of Abstract Expressionism”, Santa Fe, NM, 2014

Morgan Stanley & Co., “Sensory Impact”, Purchase, NY. 2014–2015

Painting Center, “Wit”, curated by Joanne Freeman with essay by Mario Naves, NYC, NY, 2013, (catalog), Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, “Dynamic Invention: American Abstract Artists at 75”, Brattleboro, VT, 2013 “AAA 75th Anniversary Print Portfolio”(Traveling Exhibition-2013-2017)

Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 2013

University of Mary, Fredericksburg, VA, 2014

Martin Art Gallery, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA, 2014

Marywood University, Scranton, PA. 2015; Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 2015

Biggin Gallery, at the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 2016

University of Houston-Clear Lake, Houston, Texas, 2017

Transmitter Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, 2020: Heron School of Art, Indiana, IND, 2022

Parc Floral De Paris, “Le Salon des Realties Nouvelles”, Invitational, Paris, France, 2012

The Ice Box, Crane Arts, “Abstraction to the Power of Infinity”, Philadelphia, PA, 2011

OK Harris Works of Art, “American Abstract Artists 75 Anniversary”, New York, NY, 2011

Galerie oqbo Deutche Kunstlerbund, “75th Anniversary American Abstract Artists International”, Berlin, Germany, 2011

Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, curated by Nancy E Green, “Splendor of Dynamic Structure: Celebrating 75h Anniversary of the American Abstract Artists”, Ithaca, NY, 2011

Aragonese Castle of Otranto, Italy: “American Artists International “L’astrazione vista da un cosmopolita”, Otranto, Italy, 2010

Sideshow Gallery, “Material Matters: American Abstract Artists”, curated by Kat Griefen, Brooklyn, NY, 2007

Florence Lynch Gallery, “Material Sign”, curated by Stephen Westfall, New York, NY, 2006

Metaphor Gallery, “Ideal: Selections from American Abstract Arts”, Brooklyn, NY, 2005

Klein Art Works, "Blotto", Chicago, Ill, 2001

Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY, 1992, 1985

"Art Today USA II", Teheran, Iran, 1976, curated by David Galloway

Newport Harbor Art Museum, "Market Street Program", Los Angeles, CA, 1973

Reviews

Ann Landi, contributing Art News editor, Phillis Ideal: “iPhone Drawings: Urban Energy”, 2015

Peter Frank, “Haiku: Phillis Ideal at David Richard Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico”, The Huffington Post, 2013

Lauren Tresp, “Phillis Ideal”, The Magazine, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2013

Stephen Alexander Journal, “American Abstract Artists at OK Harris,” NYC, 2011

Aaron Yassin. “The Material Sign”, (curated by Stephen Westfall and exhibited at Florence Lynch Gallery) Art Critical, 2006

Ben La Rocco. “Ideal: Selections from the American Abstract Artists Metaphor Gallery”, The Brooklyn Rail, 2005

Diane Armitage. “Phillis Ideal: Recent Paintings; Elaine de Kooning, Agnes Martin, Agnes Pelton, Florence Pierce: Classics, The Magazine, 2001

Michelle Faulkenstein. "New York Reviews-Phillis Ideal, Rosenberg & Kaufman”, Art News, May 2000

William Zimmer. "Abstract Expressionism: “Abstract Expressionism Carrying the Torch, The New York Times, 1990

Stephen Westfall. "Phillis Ideal", Arts, January 1985.

Charles Scheer. "Two Women With Insight Into Beauty, Energy", Oakland Tribune May, 1984

Thomas Albright. "Art Institute Reviews Tradition of Painting", San Francisco Chronicle, October 9, 1981

Alfred Frankenstein. "The Art World", San Francisco Chronicle, April 29, 1976.

Alfred Frankenstein. "Mesoamerica Show", San Francisco Chronicle, 1976.

Terry Graham. "American Artists 'Rediscover' Technique", Teheran Journal, July 13, 1975

Thomas Albright. "Ideal and Rose Art", San Francisco Chronicle, September 1973.

Thomas Albright. "Ideal and Lesser Works", San Francisco Chronicle, September 1973.

Thomas Albright. "New Art Schools Correspondence", Rolling Stone, April 13, 1972.

Art Fairs

Dallas Art Fair, Booth F12-April 9-April 12, 2015 Metro Curates, NYC-January 22-January 25, 2015

Collections

White and Case Law Firm, New York, NY Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM

Museum of Modern Art, NYC

Pacific Enterprises, Los Angeles, CA

Crocker National Bank, San Francisco, CA

Director of Currency, New York, NY Bank of Rome, San Francisco, CA

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Chicago, IL

Prudential Insurance Collection, San Francisco, CA

Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin, New York, NY

Duff and Phelps Credit Rating, New York, NY

Private Collection, Tehran, Iran

Robert O. Anderson, Roswell, NM

Donald Anderson, Roswell, NM

Tom Udall and Jill Cooper, Santa Fe, NM

Bobbi Forshay, Santa Fe, NM

Larry Bell, Taos, NM

Awards and Professional Activities:

American Abstract Artists Membership

Roswell Artist and Residency Board of Directors, Roswell, NM, 2019-

Photo: Kerry Kehoe Photography

Tom Martinelli

Sunday Suit 1988, Acrylic and oil on canvas, 25 x 25 in., private collection.

Nomad 2002, Acrylic on canvas, 15 x 11 in.

Homeward 2002, Acrylic on canvas, 18 x 22 in.

Temple 2006, Acrylic on canvas, 34 x 28 in.

Plain Sight 1993, Acrylic on wood panel, 18 x 18 in.

Untitled [TM.0108] 1992, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 in.

Untitled (Nov.10,1994) 1994, Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24 in.

left to right:

Untitled (VSSP) [TM.0288] 1991, Acrylic on canvas, 18 x 18 in.

Untitled (VSSP) [TM.0307] 1991, Acrylic on canvas, 18 x 18 in.

Untitled (VSSP) [TM.0307] 1991, Acrylic on canvas, 18 x 18 in.

left to right:

Conquistadora 2007, Acrylic on canvas, 25 x 20 in.

Revati (April 22, 2015) 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 19 ½ x 15 ½ in.

Energy Painting (June 14, 2015) 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 19 ½ x 15 ½ in.

Poosam (May 1, 2015) 2015, Acrylic on canvas, 23 ¼ x 17 ¼ in.

Left to right:

Untitled [TM.0076] 2013, Acrylic on canvas, 18 x 14 in.

Untitled (Full Spectrum Black) [TM.0003] 2014, Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 14 in. Private collection.

Untitled (Full Spectrum Black) [TM.0023] 2013, Acrylic on canvas, 18 x 12 in.

Left to right

Revati 27 (Full Spectrum Black) [TM.0023] 2013, Acrylic on canvas 18 x 11 in.

Untitled (Feb.3, 2013) [TM.0027] 2013, Acrylic on canvas 18 x 18 in.

Untitled (Full Spectrum Black) [TM.0086] 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 17 ¾ x 13 ¾ in.

Left to right:

Untitled

(Full Spectrum Black) [TM.0005] 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 37 in.

Tom Martinelli’s Santa Fe studio.

Untitled (Blue, Oct. 2020) 2020, Acrylic, fluorescent acrylic, grommets on canvas, 108 x 72 in.

Yep 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 17 ½ x 13 ½ in.

Eye-Mind No.1218 2018, Acrylic on canvas, 17 ½ x 13 ½ in.

Buda Bing 2017, Acrylic on canvas, 17 ½ x 13 ½ in.

BBBlue Acrylic on canvas, 17 ¾ x 13 ¾ in.

Tom Martinelli’s studio, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Tom Martinelli www.tominelli.com

Born: Queens, New York

Lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Education

1986 MFA Hunter College, NYC

1981 BFA School of Visual Arts, NYC

Solo Exhibitions

2023 Ideal / Martinelli: Mini-Retrospectives, The Wright Contemporary, Taos NM

Stripe Stain Paintings: 1991-92, G2 Gallery, Santa Fe NM

2015 Tom Martinelli: Stripe Paintings, David Richard Gallery, Santa Fe NM

2013 Out of Register, David Richard Gallery

1998 Tom Martinelli, Derek Eller Gallery, NYC

1994 Tom Martinelli, Bill Maynes Contemporary Arts, NYC

1992 Tom Martinelli: Stripe Paintings, Julian Pretto Gallery, NYC

1991 Tom Martinelli, Julian Pretto Gallery White Columns, NYC

Selected Group Exhibitions

2020 Transcendental, ODETTA Gallery, NY (Jan. 2020)

2019 Neo Geo Now, Webster + Kessler Colab, Santa Fe NM

2018 Beyond Black and White, Westbeth Gallery NYC

2017 Double Vision: Artists Who Instagram, LABspace, Hillsdale NY

The Color and The Shape: a Survey of Contemporary Geometric Painting, West Texas A&M University, Amarillo TX

Lost Coast, Etiquette, Santa Fe NM

2015 Re-Op: ‘The Responsive Eye’ Fifty Years After, David Richard Gallery

2012 Seeing Red, David Richard Gallery

New Mexico Showcase, 516 Arts, Albuquerque NM

2011 Particles + Orbs, Phil Space, Santa Fe NM

2006 The Shape of Jazz, Clifford Chance, NYC

2005 Good Vibrations, MacKenzie Fine Art, NYC

2002 Grey, Paula Cooper Gallery, NYC

Need to Know Basis, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington MA

2001 Post-Hypnotic

Mass Art, Massachusetts College of Art, Boston MA; University Galleries, University of Illinois at Normal; The MAC, Dallas TX; Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago IL;

The Tweed Museum, University of Minnesota University Galleries; Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati OH; Atlanta College of Art Gallery, Atlanta GA; SECCA, Winston-Salem NC; Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples FL

Minimalennialism, Jim Kempner Gallery, NYC

1999 Pattern, James Graham & Sons, NYC 1998

Drawings, James Graham & Sons

Pierogi 2000, Kunstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria

Works by Brooklyn Artists, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville VA

Pierogi Goes to College, Bard College, Rhinebeck, NY

1997 Abstraction: Karen Barth, David Mann, Tom Martinelli, James Graham & Sons

Current Undercurrent: Working in Brooklyn, The Brooklyn Museum, Abstraction INDEX, Condeso/Lawler Gallery, NYC

New York Drawers, Gasworks, London, England/Corner House, Manchester England

Art on Paper, Weatherspoon Art Gallery, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

All The Things You Are, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington MA

The Gramercy International Contemporary Art Fair, Los Angeles CA/Miami FL

New Museum Benefit, The New Museum, NYC

1996 Field Days, Cerulean Embankments, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington MA

Fourteen Days: A Salon, Room, NYC

The Art Exchange Show, Pierogi 2000

1995

Other Rooms, Ronald Feldman Gallery, NYC

Virtuosity/Modernism Art Fair, Park Avenue Armory, NYC

Works on Paper, curated bt Chris Martin, San Cono, Brooklyn NY

1994 Serial, Angles Gallery, Santa Monica LA

Point, Circle, Sphere, Thomas Solomon's Garage, LA CA

Painting, Arena Gallery, New York City 1993

Pittsburg Collects, The Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburg PA

Presentational Painting, The Times Square Art Gallery, NYC

Doggie Style, B-Side Gallery, NYC

1992 Contemporary Drawings: Part I, Arena Gallery, NYC

1991 Abstract Painting: Process and Material, curated by Julian Pretto, Ben Shahn Center, William Paterson College, NJ

The Painting Project (Part I), Four Walls, Brooklyn NY, curated by Amy Sillman

Update 1991, White Columns

1988 Out of Order, Ann Plumb Gallery, NYC

1987 Paint/Film, Bess Cutler Gallery, NYC

Selected Bibliography

2021 Pecha Kucha: Resolution... “Is It Done Yet?“

https://www.pechakucha.com/presentations/is-it-done-yet

2020 Landi, Ann. “Vasari 21: Under the Radar... Tom Martinelli”, 2020.11.12 https://vasari21.com/tom-martinelli/

Nelson, Jennifer. The Woven Tale Press, Tom Martinelli: The Art of Non-Measured Geometry (interview)

https://www.thewoventalepress.net/2020/10/16/the-art-of-non-measured-geometry/

2013 Frank, Peter. Haiku Review / Out of Register, Huffington Post, June 2013

2005 Cohen, David. “Arts & Letters: Gallery Going”, The NY Sun (July 7, 2005)

1999 Blinderman, Barry/Moody, Tom. “Post-Hypnotic”. exhibition catalogue, University Galleries of Illinois State University New York Magazine, July 26, 1999: p72

1998 Bell, J. Bowyer. “drawings” Review, (Feb. 15, 1998):34

Johnson, Ken. “Abstraction” New York Times, (Jan.9, 1988):E39

Moody, Rick. “Art Is Dead, Long Live Art”, Modern Painters, (Spring ‘98,vol.11 no.1):80-81 Schwabsky, Barry. Museum & Gallery Reviews, (Nov.-Dec.’98):65

1997 Murdock, Robert M. “Karen Barth, David Mann, Tom Martinelli” Review, (Dec 15, 1997):32 Shales, Ezra. “Karen Barth, David Mann, Tom Martinelli” Review, (Dec 15, 1997):32-33

1996 “The Do-It-Yourself Artworld: A guide to the Un-gallery scene”, The New York Times Magazine, (Sept.1,1996)

1995 Diehl, Carol. "Tom Martinelli, Dot, Dot, Dot..."Art News; On the Edge, (May ' 95):p113

Drolet, Owen. "Tom Martinelli" catalogue, Bill Maynes Contemporary Art, NYC

1994 Cameron, Dan. "Critical Edge: The Easel Way Out" Art & Auction, (Dec. '94):68-69

1987 Raynor, Vivian. "Reviews", The New York Times, (July 30, '87): review of "Paint/Film"

Grants and Fellowships

2020. Falling Colors Foundation Grant

2019 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts

2002 New York Foundation for the Arts Artist’s Fellowship in Photography

1998 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Briar VA

1996 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award

Tyrone Guthrie Center, Co. Monaghan, Ireland

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts

1993 Yaddo, Saratoga Springs NY

1992 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts

1990 Pollock/Krasner Foundation Grant1986

Millay Colony for the Arts, Austerlitz NY

Collections

Collection of Virginia Dwan

The Sol Lewitt Collection

Weatherspoon Galry, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

University of Kentucky Art Museum, Lexington

Holt/Smithson Foundation

Teaching and Related Experience

2017-19 Archive and Digital Resources Manager, The Holt/Smithson Foundation

2015-17 Trustee and Board member, The Holt/Smithson Foundation

1992-04 Hunter College, Asst. Adj. Professor / Visiting Professor, Dept. of Fine Art, C.U.N.Y.

1998-99 New School University, The New School, Fine Arts Dept.

1997 Yale University, Visiting Lecturer / Guest Fellow

The Wright Contemporary is a new venture on the Taos art scene, a set of galleries dedicated to the best in contemporary art of northern New Mexico, as well as a space for lectures, panels, and films. Named for the Santa Fe-based artist and benefactor Ira Wright, the gallery plans ten to twelve shows per year, curated by art journalist and director Ann Landi and artist Michelle Cooke. Our debut show was “Explosive Abstraction.” Next on the agenda was “Taos Draws!” a round-up of draftsmen (and women). “New Geometries,” a smashing survey of abstract painters and sculptors in the area, closed in late November. In the past few months, the Wright has hosted a show of photography in black and white and “Botanicals,” a selection of works with themes drawn from the natural world. Our current exhibition, “Ideal & Martinelli,” mini retrospectives of two Santa Fe artists, will be on view till April 8, 2023.

Complementing the exhibitions is a roster of lectures and public programs. In the past few months, Gwen Chanzit, curator emerita of the Denver Art Museum, gave an illustrated lecture on the origins of abstraction, while Jason Andrew, from Artist Estate Management LLC, spoke to a full house about getting your affairs in order before you travel to that great studio in the sky (a video of this talk is available on YouTube). An “Evening with Larry Bell,” also on YouTube, investigated the myriad aspects of the artist’s long and stellar career, and during the Taos Fall Arts Festival, Marcie Begleiter was on hand to screen her landmark documentary Eva Hesse, with a discussion about the making of the film afterward. Recent events included two-part panels on art and the law (what you need to know about contracts and intellectual property, for instance). The Wright has also presented conversations and talks with Lauren Tresp, publisher of Southwest Contemporary; Louis Grachos, director of SITE Santa Fe, and David Chickey, publisher of Radius Books.