I applied to Art Obscura, a local Las Cruces gallery Last week. After a few days of silence from the gallery, I decided to visit to see what it was like with the current state of the world. I was very nervous having very little success with my applications, but I knew that I needed to be seen. Saturday was my lucky day as it was very slow at the gallery and the only person there was the owner, Deret Roberts. He was a very kind and welcoming person. It seems that with the pandemic visitors were a rare occurrence.
Roberts was immediately excited to see me. He told me what I already knew from researching the website in great detail. There was extra gallery space upstairs and a space in the back, both with more art up for view. The main room was where the current artist was showing. I quickly noticed it was his work on the walls from the large vinyl name. There was also a distinct style that was clearly his, though I hadn’t seen anything quite like that from the few images of his work I had found online. They were smaller stencils of retro 50s comic characters on desolate, earthy backgrounds . The brushstrokes of the background were what reminded me of his earlier paintings: rough and gestural with very clear intent behind the color.
I asked Roberts what it was like opening with COVID going on. He said it was actually very exciting and refreshing to have people come in. He mentioned wanting fresh work up, so I told him that I emailed my portfolio the last week. His face lit up. “Oh, are you the painter?” he asked. I said I was and he offered to let me show as soon as possible. The excitement was contagious, I was beaming under my mask, though he may not have been able to tell. Of course, I said yes. He said I could set up that day, so I told him I could do it the next weekend.
After we agreed on the timing, I decided to stay and look at some art. If anything, my plan for visiting the gallery was to at least see some art in person! After I looked at Roberts’ paintings I asked him about them. He was only showing his own work because they didn’t have any other artwork to put up. He made the current series in about an hour a piece. It was impressive, but it was more exciting to me to know that my timing was perfect. He needed something to bring people in and I was part of that solution.
It was a great feeling to have a gallery owner want to show my art. I am very proud of this series and I hope I have a good turnout! It’s a series expressing effects of mental illness that I have experienced and hoped to convey a universal understanding of said feelings. It has had a good response from the small crowd online that I have showed it to, but the real test is a physical show. The paintings in the show can be seen here.