Between Dust & Stars: Echoes of the High Desert
by
the Artists of
Between Dust & Stars: Echoes of the High Desert
by the Artists of ArtStreet
Harwood Art Center
January 16 - February 22, 2025
2025 marks the 100th anniversary of Harwood’s historic campus. We are commemorating the occasion with exhibitions that look back on a century of creative expression, while inviting creatives to imagine into the future. As one of our most long standing collaborations, we are excited to welcome back ArtStreet for our 28th annual exhibition partnership. ArtStreet gives community artists a common forum to share their experiences, coming together to make art and organize public exhibits like this. All proceeds from the sale of ArtStreet art go directly to the artist(s) who created the piece.
COVER: Stephen Finkenauer, October Sky, Acrylic Paint on Canvas, framed, 6x48”, 2024
For the centennial anniversary of our campus, our gallery and exhibition program showcases many of the creative voices that have contributed to the history of Harwood Art Center. ArtStreet of Albuqueurque Health Care for the Homeless is one of our longest standing partners. Since 1996, our proximity in place and mission has brought our two organizations together to present exhibitions centered in the belief that creative expression is integral to the human spirit, and that Art is for Everyone.
With their exhibition Between Dust & Stars: Echoes of the High Desert the artists of ArtStreet not only exemplify the beauty of their community, but also the beauty of our local landscape. Through a combination of realistic, surrealist, and abstract landscapes, artists examine both the majesty and severity of our desert home.
ArtStreet’s studio is largely supported by donated materials, resulting in artworks that beautifully combine traditional and nontraditional materials. The gallery becomes alive with artworks made from conventionally discarded items that are imbued with the spirit of each artist. It is as though each artwork is an altar, with relics of the history, experience, and hopes of its creator.
Between Dust & Stars marks 28 exhibitions presented in partnership between ArtStreet of Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless and Harwood Art Center. We share the understanding that creativity and social connection are vital to the health of our communities. Through their work, the artists of ArtStreet present a vision of hope for the future, reminding us that creativity is the seed of change.
Helen Atkins, Jordyn Renteria & Julia Mandeville Co-Curators & Cooperative Leadership Team, Harwood Art Center
ArtStreet’s exhibition is supported, in part, by funding from the New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, NM CARES, the National Endowment for the Arts, and private and public contributions.
Between Dust & Stars:
Between Dust & Stars: Echoes of the High Desert features surrealist landscapes and imagery where dreams and reality mix to honor the past, experience the present, and envision the future. Drawing from lived experiences, the artists of ArtStreet have come together to pay homage to the spirit of the desert, bringing to life the often-fleeting moments of humanity in the harsh desert landscape.
Between Dust & Stars: Echoes of the High Desert installation, 2025 Aziza Murray and Harwood Art Center, All
Stars: Echoes of the High Desert
People who are experiencing homelessness or in transition often deal with multiple losses, trauma, and isolation and need a low-threshold, safe way to reconnect with community and access supportive services. ArtStreet’s Arts-InHealth model integrates arts programming within AHCH healthcare services, engaging people in creative therapeutic processes as approaches to change and wellness.
Lynn Friel, Leaf, Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 18x24”, 2024; Ana Grau, Bugs, Dinosaurs, Unicorns, Mixed Media & Found Objects, 9x6x7”, 2024, Photo by Aziza Murray & Harwood Art Center
Page 8: Makavelli, MP I (Military Police / Masterpiece), Mixed Media, framed, 4x6”, 2024; Page 9: Julie Mirabol, Somewhere..., Mixed Media on Masonite Board, 14x40”, 2024; Between Dust & Stars: Echoes of the High Desert installation, 2025 Aziza Murray and Harwood Art Center, All Rights Reserved; Page 10: James Sullivan, Glazed Ceramics, photo by Aziza Murray & Harwood Art Center; Page 11: River Rising , Under the Sun, Mixed Media on Paper, framed, 22x30”, 2012
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
ADRIAN PEREZ
ALEX CARR
ALINA POZAS
ANA GRAU
ANGEL TEPPER
CAIN LOPEZ-WHITE
CAMILLA BUCHANAN
DAVID ANAYA
EDUARDO CUE VILLATE
ELISE GILL
JAMES SULLIVAN
JIMMY GREER
JULIE MIRABOL
KURT COHOE
LYNN FRIEL
MAKAVELLI
MARICELA Y DOMINGO A.
RIVER RISING
STEPHEN FINKENAUER
THOMAS CARNEY
WENDY VALDEZ
Page 12: Thomas Carney, Heartbreak Relapse, Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 36x48”, 2024; Page 13: Eduardo Cue Villate, Guitarra Florecida, Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 36x48”, 2023; Page 14 Kurt Cohoe, Valley Sun, Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 14x14”, 2024; Jimmy Greer, Mountains & Mushrooms, Acrylic Paint on Cardboard, 18x22”, 2024; Page 15: Between Dust & Stars: Echoes of the High Desert installation, 2025 Aziza Murray and Harwood Art Center, All Rights Reserved
Page 16: Camilla Buchanan, All Seeing Eye II, Mixed Media on Paper, 22x28”, 2024 Makavelli, MP III (Military Police / Masterpiece), Mixed Media on Canvas, 8x10”, 2024; Page 17: Thomas Carney, In a Land Far, Far, Far Away, Mixed Media Lamp, 18x12x58”, 2024
Page 18: Between Dust & Stars: Echoes of the High Desert installation, 2025 Aziza Murray and Harwood Art Center, All Rights Reserved; Page 19: Lynn Friel, ?, Mixed Media on Paper, 15x18”, 2024
Each artist has their own process on how they incorporate their thoughts, beliefs, and experiences into their work. Some are quite literal in their depictions of stressful events, but most artists process through the things that happen to them by how they approach media and the kinds of emotions they evoke with their art. While one artist might draw literal tears on a face, another may saturate the paper with water before beginning their painting to emulate the act of letting go of control and feeling physically wet from sadness.
Page 20: Angel Tepper, Ancestors, Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 24x30”, 2022; Angel Tepper, Shiny Mesa, Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 17x21”, 2022, Page 21: Alex Carr, Dey Inna Life, Watercolor on Paper, 22x28”, 2024; Page 22: Cain Lopez-White, Family with Baby, Marker on Paper, 11x14”, 2024; Cain Lopez-White, Faces, Marker on Paper, 11x14”, 2024; David Anaya, Southwest Wellness, Mixed Media on Canvas, 9x12”, 2024
Maricela y Domingo A., Domingo, Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 14x14”, 2024; Page 25: Wendy Valdez, Sun with Stars, Glitter & Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 14x11”, 2024; Alina Pozas, Interna, Oil Painting on Canvas, 22x28”, 2024
ABOUT ALBUQUERQUE HEALTHCARE FOR THE HOMELESS
For over three decades, Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless (AHCH) has served our community as the only health care organization in Central New Mexico dedicated exclusively to providing services to homeless people. AHCH provides critical services to over 7,000 men, women and children every year. By addressing the health-related causes of homelessness, AHCH makes it possible for people to find solutions to end their homelessness.
ArtStreet is a program of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless that is dedicated to increasing access to the arts through offerings of supplies, artistic instruction, professional growth opportunities, and a loving community of fellow creatives. Fueled by compassion and driven by equity, they lead boldly, create exceptional health care experiences, and raise voices to end homelessness.
www.abqhch.org
Kurt Cohoe, Leonardo Plato, Colored Pencil, Chalk Pastel on Paper, framed, 24x18”, 2024; Page 27: Makavelli, MP IV (Military Police / Masterpiece), Mixed Media on Glass, 6x10”, 2024; Page 28: Wendy Valdez, Virgin Mary, Mixed Media on Canvas, 12x16”, 2024; Adrian Perez, Elephante, Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 16x20”, 2024
Between Dust & Stars: Echoes of the High Desert installation, 2025 Aziza Murray and Harwood Art Center, All Rights
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.
