Two career-spanning exhibitions by New Mexico artists will open Oct. 16 with a public reception and gallery walkthrough

Organ Mountain News report

LAS CRUCES - The NMSU Art Museum will open two exhibitions featuring New Mexico artists Marietta Patricia Leis and Shirley Crow on Friday, Oct. 16.

An opening reception is scheduled from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., beginning with a walkthrough of Marietta Patricia Leis: Breathing Lessons led by Leis and curator Marisa Sage.

Career retrospective explores color, movement and place

Marietta Patricia Leis: Breathing Lessons is a career retrospective spanning Leis’ work in video, painting, photography, sculpture, poetry and sound.

The exhibition traces her exploration of color, time, movement and place across several decades.

Leis was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1938 and later studied dance and painting in New York and Los Angeles. She moved to New Mexico in 1982 to pursue a master of fine arts degree at the University of New Mexico.

Her work has been exhibited internationally and is included in collections at institutions in South Korea, Spain, Latvia and Italy, as well as the Harwood Museum in Taos.

Crow exhibition spans nearly five decades

Shirley Crow: On the Edge surveys nearly 50 years of Crow’s work in pastel, ink, graphite and oil.

The exhibition focuses on Crow’s longstanding interest in abstraction, creativity and questions about the universe and human existence.

Crow, who is based in Tesuque, has exhibited in solo and group shows around the country, including at the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas, Texas A&M University and the University of New Mexico Medical Center.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in art education from the University of Missouri and has worked as both an artist and educator.

Both exhibitions open Oct. 16 at the NMSU Art Museum in Las Cruces.