Exhibitionism

Michael Abatemarco I The New Mexican

NICOLE FINGER Italian Lace JEFF METZ Ligeia

(2021), Carrara marble Trained as a ceramist, artist Jeff Metz first came to New Mexico in the 1990s to work as a restorer of Anasazi pottery. Soon, he became interested in the modernist sculpture of Henry Moore and Jean Arp, and transitioned to creating abstract works in stone and other mediums at his Albuquerque studio. He works from a single block of stone using a combination of pneumatic tools and hand tools to create elegant works of fluid, curvilinear, and geometric form. “Confronting stone, at whatever scale, is a much more physical exercise than working in clay or 2D work,” he says in a statement. “There is more risk, especially since I do direct carving. My sculptural process is driven by a search for the unexpected: it plays out in an effort to transcend stone’s resistance to spontaneous change.” Metz is GF Contemporary’s featured artist for the month of February. See his work at the gallery or on the website. GF Contemporary, 707 Canyon Road, 505-983-3707, gfcontemporary.com

(2019), oil on canvas The close-cropped representational imagery of Colorado-based painter Nicole Finger ranges in subject matter from portraiture to still lifes. Her children often inspire her work, and her close-up portraits, rendered with a high degree of realism, are intended to express something of her subjects’ inner psyches. “There is an obvious and palpable connection occurring through the direct eye contact which commands the viewer to engage, while thinly obscured by a filter of veils, sunglasses or lights,” says Finger in a statement. “This visual barrier creates a sense of push and pull both physically and metaphorically reflecting the emotional states of the subjects on the cusp of adulthood; a mystery and vibrating energy of what is to come.” Work from Finger’s Concealment series are currently available at the gallery and can also be viewed on Victory Contemporary’s artist page for Finger. Victory Contemporary, 124 W. Palace Ave., 505-983-8589, victorycontemporary.com