The announcement on the Couse-Sharp Historic Site’s 2024 gala, La Luz de Taos,includes a description that calls the event the “hottest little art shindig in the West.” This could be one of two things: colorful language by a clever copywriter or an accurate description of a popular returning show. Or a third option: both, because it’s so difficult to say no to anything called a shindig.
Chloé Marie Burk, Cold Morning in the High Desert, oil on linen board, 24 x 30 in.
La Luz de Taos, the Taos site’s biennial gala and art show, returns to Northern New Mexico on April 12. The show, featuring around 45 works from as many artists, will be unveiled at the Couse-Sharp Historic Site, one of the great art destinations in all of the Southwest. The site contains the former home and studio of Eanger Irving Couse and two studios used by Joseph Henry Sharp, as well as the recently completed Lunder Research Center, which houses a growing archive of material related to Taos artists.
“We’re feeling really great right now as we prepare for the show. We’re just seeing some killer material come in from our artists. I’m very excited,” says Couse-Sharp’s executive director and curator Davison Packard Koenig. “The thing we’re really thrilled to talk about this year is the diversity of the artists. We have some of the top artists working today, which includes 11 Native artists and seven Hispano artists. It’s a healthy mix that represents the Southwest really well. And not only do we have a greater representation among the artists, but also the media as well since we have wood carvers, potters, sculpture artists, glass artists and more.”
Mark Maggiori, Brother by Blood, oil on panel, 26 x 26 in.
Koenig points out that this diverse array of artists and materials calls back to Taos’ rich history as a center of trade in the Southwest long before New Mexico, the Southwest and even the United States. “Some of these artistic traditions go back a millennia,” he adds.
Artists who will be showing at the exhibition include Tony Abeyta, William Acheff, Eric Bowman, Autumn Borts-Medlock, Nocona Burgess, Arturo Chavez, Sean Michael Chavez, John Coleman, Glenn Dean, Josh Elliott, Phil Epp, Jody and Susan Folwell, Logan Maxwell Hagege, Brett Allen Johnson, Jivan Lee, Leon Loughridge, Ira Lujan, Mark Maggiori, Paige Pierson, Ben Pease, Howard Post, Kevin Red Star, Ron Rencher, Nathanael Volckening and many others.
John Coleman, A Mother’s Journey, bronze, ed. of 20, 25 x 8½ x 10½ in.
The exhibition opens April 12, but collectors may want to time their visit with the gala and art show that will take place on June 14 and 15. During the gala weekend, much of the exhibition will move to nearby El Monte Sagrado Resort, which will host the festive party and by-draw sale. All of the proceeds from the event benefit the Couse-Sharp Historic Site and the Lunder Research Center, which contains a vast trove of information and objects related to the Taos Society of Artists, an organization co-founded by Couse and Sharp.
“La Luz de Taosis a very important show because it is contributing to keeping the heritage of the TSA alive,” says Maggiori. “Taos being a big part of my life and my creative process, I am always honored and happy to have one of my works in the show, knowing that half of the proceeds go to the organization.”
Drew Macias, Hold Tight, oil on panel, 24 x 18 in.
Once the exhibition opens in April, all of the art will be viewable online. In addition to in-person bidding during the June sale, absentee bidding will also be offered for collectors who can’t attend in person. —
La Luz de Taos
April 12-June 15, 2024
Exhibition reception, art preview and open house, June 14
Gala and art sale, June 15
Couse-Sharp Historic Site
138 and 146 Kit Carson Road, Taos, NM 87571
(575) 751-0369, www.couse-sharp.org
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