50 Years of RAiR

2017 is a big anniversary year for Roswell. Aside from being the 70th anniversary of the infamous UFO incident,  RMAC will be turning 80 years old this October, and the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program will be celebrating 50 years. We'll commemorate RAiR's milestone with a special exhibition this fall, but in anticipation of that show we're offering a preview, 50 Years of RAiR: Works from the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program.

For fifty years, the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program has empowered artists by enabling them to focus on their creative practices. Established in 1967 by oil businessman, philanthropist and artist Donald B. Anderson, the RAiR grant has become known as “the gift of time” due to its exceptional length and generosity. Open to all artists anywhere in the world and at any stage in their careers, the grant includes free housing, studio space, and a living stipend for a year’s time, providing recipients with the financial and personal freedom to focus exclusively on their art.

Open to all artists anywhere in the world and at any stage in their careers, the grant includes free housing, studio space, and a living stipend for a year’s time, providing recipients with the financial and personal freedom to focus exclusively on their art.

Local residents also benefit from the program by having the opportunity to view contemporary art from around the world on a regular basis, with an average of six artists exhibiting their work at RMAC per year. For RAiR participants and Roswell residents alike, the grant brings together people of different backgrounds and interests through the creation and promotion of contemporary art. 

In anticipation of RAiR’s 50^th anniversary celebration in October 2017, this exhibit introduces visitors to the grant and its history through a selection of work by past participants. Drawn from RMAC’s vaults, the works on view reflect the diversity that has always distinguished this program. Let's take a closer look:

Howard Cook, The Prayer, 1968, black-and-white lithograph on paper. Image courtesy of RMAC.

Taos artist Howard Cook (1901-1980) is informally considered the first Roswell Artist-in-Residence, spending the winters in Roswell from the 1960s into the 1970s. He first received professional acclaim for his printmaking in the 1920s, and worked in several different media over the course of his career, including fresco, painting and collage. Readers familiar with The Fanciful Lobster will know that Cook is one of my personal favorites in the collection, so naturally I made sure to get him into the show.

 

Jillian Denby, The African Mask as Hunter, 1975, oil on linen. Image courtesy of RMAC.

New York artist Jillian Denby paints naturalistic works that explore the spatial and emotional interactions between human figures and their surroundings. The props in this work, including the mask, wheelbarrow and hides, also appear in later paintings.

Luis Jimenez, Progress Suite #IV, 1976, color lithograph on paper. Image courtesy of RMAC.

Born in El Paso, Texas, Luis Jimenez (1940-2006), captured the vivacity of the American West, and particularly its Latino culture, through his energetic lithographs and fiberglass sculpture. His studio was located west of Roswell in the Hondo Valley, not terribly far from where Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth lived. Jimenez's work are explosively energetic, replete with confident gestural lines and high-key colors.

Michele Borque Sewards, Untitled, 1973, black-and-white lithograph on paper. Image courtesy of RMAC.

Printmaker Michele Borque Sewards came to Roswell to concentrate on lithography, creating works that featured abstract birds, fish and plants. She remains active in Placitas, New Mexico.

Lee Johnson, Toned Forms, Textured Plains, 1975, acrylic on canvas. Image courtesy of RMAC.

Lee Johnson served as Assistant Director for the Roswell Museum and Art Center prior to his participation in the RAiR program. We've got a couple of his hard-edged paintings in the collection; I featured one in the first exhibit I did at RMAC, Subject to Change.

All of this is building up to a special exhibition in October, when RAiR alums from around the world will be submitting new works to the Museum. That show will occupy most of RMAC's galleries, underscoring the breadth and depth of the Program. Until then though, you can check out 50 Years of RAiR through early September, so if you're around be sure to check it out.