The Open Space Visitor Center has hosted the annual "A View With Room" art show for three years with great success.  We are now going to make it four years!

All the paintings will be for sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to support the Open Space Alliance.

Read more about the Open Space Alliance here.

We look forward to seeing you here at the Open Space Visitor Center!      

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT:

There is nothing new about our desire as human beings to capture the raw beauty of a landscape in the form of a painting or photograph.  We do it all the time with our contemporary technology.  Digital cameras have given every person the ability to capture or reveal that moment that you want to share: the sunset as it illuminates the Sandia Mountain; the cactus in bright magenta bloom against a sage green grassland; the reflected blue-sky in the Rio Grande during fall and it’s amarilla transition.  It’s easy enough to do in a moment’s time with a camera, but there are a handful of people in this state who take a different approach to revealing the aesthetics these landscapes pose.  The time honored tradition of Plein Air Painting is alive and well, and the talented artists who practice this method of painting are directing their skill toward Albuquerque’s Open Spaces.

Plein-air is  “designating a painting executed out of doors and representing a direct response to the scene or subject in front of the artist”.  As you can see, Plein Air is a much more involved process then simply pushing a button on your camera.  These artists tote their easels, paints or pastels, water, shade and talent into the landscape, stand for hours as the light shifts and changes, wind comes and goes.  Heat or cold weather influence the quality of the lines these artists paint while on scene.  You might say that the landscapes themselves have a say in how they are depicted due to the atmospheric events that occur while a painting is being created.  These artists develop a rapport with the lands they choose to paint.

In addition to showcasing great art, the art exhibit is also a fund-raising event for the Open Space Alliance, the friends group of the Open Space Division. A tax-deductible portion from each purchase will go to help support Open Space environmental education programs, habitat restoration projects, and future phases of the Visitor Center. Read more about the Open Space Alliance here.

The Open Space Visitor Center provides a place where the citizens of Albuquerque can learn about the Open Space program and the diverse lands within the Open Space system.