Abstracting Nature

Albuquerque Museum announces Abstracting Nature, on view from June 21 through October 12, 2025, foregrounding the works of ten artists, past and contemporary, whose enduring relationships with the land have played a vital role in their creative practices. Featured artists are Marietta Patricia Leis, Joanna Keane Lopez, Lydia Madrid, Agnes Martin, Yoshiko Shimano, Judy Tuwaletstiwa, Joan Weissman, Emmi Whitehorse, Karen Yank, and Richard Diebenkorn.

While these artists express a profound appreciation for nature, particularly the landscapes of New Mexico, each one focuses on capturing the deeper meanings behind what they observe rather than simply its external appearance. Guided by observation, research, and intuition, these artists have honed their visions using specifically chosen materials—glass, clay, steel, graphite, ink, silk, and natural pigments. The earthly mediums become vessels for memory and meaning, weaving together threads of heritage, culture, and personal journey in a quiet dialogue between hand and land. 

In the works presented, the artists use the lens of abstraction to explore the deep stories and personal connections they share with the environment. Through their sculptures, weavings, prints, and paintings, they encourage us to reflect, reconnect, and nurture even greater connections with the places that support and inspire us. Spanning more than seventy years of creative exploration, Abstracting Nature invites all who have felt a sense of peace or belonging in New Mexico’s vast yet intimate landscapes to see them in new and imaginative ways.

This exhibition is supported in part by the Chicago Woodman Foundation.


Image:
Detail of Joan Weissman, Pyramids, 1999, hand-stitched needled-point tapestry, Albuquerque Museum, gift of Joan Weissman, PC2021.15.1, photo: Albuqerque Museum