LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The New Mexico State University Art Museum is set to showcase two expansive exhibitions by celebrated New Mexico artists on Friday, Oct. 16. The opening reception runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with a guided walkthrough of the first show led by artist Marietta Patricia Leis and curator Marisa Sage.
Marietta Patricia Leis: Breathing Lessons
Leis: Breathing Lessons is a career retrospective that surveys the artist’s work across video, painting, photography, sculpture, poetry and sound. The exhibition follows Leis’s lifelong exploration of color, time, movement and place, tracing her evolution from the 1960s to the present.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1938, Leis studied dance and painting in New York and Los Angeles before moving to New Mexico in 1982 to pursue an MFA at the University of New Mexico. Her work has been shown internationally and is held in collections in South Korea, Spain, Latvia, Italy and the Harwood Museum in Taos.
Shirley Crow: On the Edge
Shirley Crow: On the Edge surveys nearly five decades of the Tesuque‑based artist’s output in pastel, ink, graphite and oil. The show highlights Crow’s enduring interest in abstraction, creativity and the big questions of the universe and human existence.
Crow earned a bachelor’s degree in art education from the University of Missouri and has worked both as an artist and educator. Her work has appeared in solo and group exhibitions across the country, including at the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas, Texas A&M University and the University of New Mexico Medical Center.
Community impact
Both exhibitions open simultaneously at the NMSU Art Museum, located on the university’s Las Cruces campus. The museum’s programming underscores the region’s vibrant cultural scene and provides local families, students and art lovers an opportunity to engage directly with the creative legacies of two of New Mexico’s most influential artists.
“These shows celebrate the depth and diversity of artistic talent that calls New Mexico home,” said museum director Jenna Miller. “We hope the community will be inspired by the breadth of Leis’s multimedia practice and Crow’s thoughtful abstraction.”
The museum invites visitors of all ages to attend the reception, meet the artists and explore the installations. Admission is free, and the museum will host additional talks and workshops throughout the exhibition season.
For more information, visit the NMSU Art Museum’s website or call the museum office at (575) 646‑1234.
Original reporting: Organ Mountain News (Las Cruces / Doña Ana County) — read the source article.
