Diego Rivera (1886 - 1957) & Francisco Zúñiga (1912 - 1998)

We are pleased to present work by two of the most prominent Latin American artists of the 20th century, Diego Rivera (1886 - 1957) and Francisco Zúñiga (1912 - 1998). Their art reveals a sense of beauty and poetry in everyday life, deeply felt humanism, and an interest in cultural identity.

Diego Rivera, Labor, 1931, 18” x 24 ½” watercolor on paper

Mexican-born Diego Rivera was a controversial, talented artist, well-known for his leftward political leanings, tumultuous marriage to painter Frida Kahlo, and his large frescos. In the 1920’s, his murals helped establish the Mexican Mural movement, and he went on to paint frescos throughout the United States. The painting Labor was done as a study for a mural in San Francisco; it is inscribed to a Mr. Herman Black, reportedly the contractor on the project.

Francisco Zúñiga, El Pastorcillo, bronze, 30" x 30" x 38", edition of 4

Francisco Zúñiga was born and raised in Costa Rica, but moved to Mexico at the age of 23. There, he established his reputation, primarily portraying Mexican women; he considered the human figure to be “the most important aspect of the world around (him).” El Pastorcillo is one of Zúñiga's rare depictions of a male. The shepherd boy, contemplative and thoughtful, has Zúñiga's signature combination of classical training and a primal, timeless quality. We hope you will get a chance to see these unique historical works in the gallery.

Francisco Zúñiga, La Calera, bronze, 18" x 12" x 14", edition of 8

Chris Morel Featured in The Taos News

Chris Morel in the The Taos News.

Gene Kloss: Etchings of New Mexico

In this country everything lifts the trees, the mountains, the sky. 
-Gene Kloss, Etcher & Painter

Apricot and Chokecherry Tree, 1935, drypoint, 5 7/8 x 7 3/8 inches

Gene Kloss called herself a New Mexican at first-sight, falling in love with the vast, beautiful desert. She was on a camping honeymoon trip in 1925, having recently married poet-composer Phillips Kloss. In Taos, the couple rented an old adobe where they lived part-time for a decade, paying ten dollars a month, and hauling water from a spring a mile up the canyon.

Summer Cottonwoods, 1935, drypoint, 5 7/8 x 7 3/8 inches, ed. of 20

In Taos in the summertime, Kloss made prints on a 1,080 pound secondhand Sturges etching press; these intimate and enchanting compositions of New Mexico defined her career. During her 70 year career, she created more than 600 dramatic images with her masterful command and range of intaglio technique including etching, drypoint, aquatint and soft ground producing almost 18,000 prints herself. Please visit the gallery to see works by this inspiring, prolific artist.

O.E. Berninghaus & A Bit of Rural Taos

Like other Taos artists, O.E. Berninghaus (1874 - 1952) created remarkable portrayals of Pueblo Indians, but he was also drawn to the other peoples and cultures of New Mexico. He spent hours speaking with wagonmasters, farmers, and cowboys; he knew his subjects well. In these intimate paintings of rural Taos, Berninghaus captures authentic daily life on the ranchitos. The busy figures and adobe structures create intriguing stories, with a backdrop of majestic mountains, willowy cottonwoods, and vast sky. These bucolic paintings celebrate ordinary life in extraordinary landscape, portraying a lifestyle close to nature, perhaps even spiritual. Collectors and art critics are taking note of Berninghaus' distinct relationship with the various cultures of Taos, as found in his unique rural paintings.

Cider Fridays

Artist Robert Carr (above), with his sculptures and drawings, at our most recent Cider Friday.

Please join us for Cider Fridays & Artist Presentations!
December 7th, 14th & 21st
2 - 5 PM, Artist Talk at 3 PM

On our upcoming Cider Friday, December 7th, JK Inson will discuss his artistic process: the creation of inspirational bronze and marble sculptures  (left:White Pelican Day, white marble, 8 1/2" x 6" x 7") .

On December 14, Betsy James will talk about her reverence for southwestern mountains, mesas and desertscapes, and the watercolor and gouache paintings inspired by local landscape.

December 21st – enjoy a yet-to-be announced mystery artist.  Wishing you a joyful December!!

The 11th American Art Fair

Please join us at the
Bohemian National Hall
321 East 73rd Street
New York, NY 10021

Saturday, November 10 thru
Tuesday, November 13
12 PM - 6 PM, Saturday - Monday
12 - 4 PM, Tuesday

This weekend, Nedra Matteucci Galleries will participate in the American Art Fair, the premier art fair devoted to showcasing museum quality American art. As the exclusive specialist focusing on western art, our booth will present some of the finest works of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For more information, please feel free to contact us or visit TheAmericanArtFair.com.

Upcoming Exhibition – Alice Schille: Poetry of Place

Please join us for
Alice Schille: Poetry of Place
1:00 - 3:00 PM on Saturday, November 10

We are pleased to announce Poetry of Place, a historical exhibition featuring more than two dozen paintings by Alice Schille (1869 - 1955). Schille was distinctive among her peers in many ways. A watercolor painter, when oil painting was the common medium; an artist who defied classification and avoided organized groups; an accomplished female painter in the early 1900’s. In retrospect, the significance of Schille’s work continues to astonish us: her paintings are modern and timeless, thoughtful and whimsical, unique and technically superior. These lyrical paintings penetrate beneath the surface to portray the culture, essence, and poetry of place. We are honored to exhibit Alice Schille’s work for the third time, and we sincerely hope you can join us to see these exceptional watercolor paintings.

Golden October

Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.    – F. Scott Fitzgerald

It is the time of year for yellow. Dozens of landscape paintings remind us to celebrate this season of change in the Southwest. In Emil Bisttram’s Indian Summer (above), the aspens share their glory in bright, sunny patches of gold, with a hint of orange. Crossing the Stream, by E. Martin Hennings, catches a quiet moment beside this autumnal flash of yellow and evergreen (below). 

We hope you will get a chance to enjoy the rush of color this season – up in the mountains, out in the sculpture garden, and on the gallery walls. Happy October!

Introducing Jill Soukup

I’m driven by the process of painting contrasts, and by pushing value, color,  and texture in a realistic setting.    – Jill Soukup

Jill Soukup paints the "richly kinetic moments that define Western ranch life.” Thoughtful and intentional in her work, Soukup emphasizes contrast: motion and stillness, light and dark, realism and abstraction. With unique, cropped compositions, Soukup draws our attention to this balanced opposition. "Without fail," she writes, "This process reaffirms for me the symbiotic duality that defines my work—each element is dependent on its opposite for complete expression."

Soukup grew up near Denver, Colorado, where she still lives. As a young girl, she loved horses and sketched obsessively; as a teen, she began a pet-portrait business, drawing animals in chalk pastel. After a career in graphic design, Soukup shifted to fine art. Her paintings have earned multiple awards, including an Oil Painters of America Award of Excellence, and the the People’s Choice Award at the Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale. We are thrilled to welcome Jill Soukup and her contemporary perspective on horses, cowboys, and life in the wild west. Please stop by the gallery to enjoy her distinctive, dynamic paintings.

Santa Fe Indian Market, August 14 - 19

Every August, Santa Fe hosts one of the largest Native arts shows in the world, welcoming over 100,000 visitors. Begun officially in 1922, Indian Market is an incredible event featuring approximately 1,000 artists from over 200 tribes. During this exciting week of events, please visit the gallery and sculpture garden where we feature work by Native sculptors Doug Hyde and Michael Naranjo. 

Born in Oregon of Nez Perce and Assiniboine background, Doug Hyde is a leading Native American sculptor in stone and bronze. His work often features vignettes of Native American life; Indian Market (pictured left), depicts the longstanding tradition of selling and trading art.

Michael Naranjo, a Tewa Indian, is originally from Santa Clara Pueblo. At the age of nine, his father became pastor of the Baptist Indian Mission in Taos. Basic Instincts (below left), celebrates his Native heritage, depicting a fight between man and buffalo. While creating this piece, he thought about Jacob and the Angel, and Jacob's struggle with his faith in God, which inspired Naranjo's most recent bronze, Resolution (below right). Blinded at the age of 23 while serving in Vietnam, Naranjo's talent is evident in his remarkable, inspired sculpture, rich with history and culture, alive with movement and magic.