Amazing art at ‘Inside Out’
Don’t miss this wonderful exhibit, Inside Out ,by artists living with mental illness, brilliantly curated by Bruce Velick. It’s at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 W. Marcy St., with public parking at the Federal Place or Lensic garages.
Stephen Finkenauer’s paintings, large acrylic on canvas works, are spectacular and greet you as you turn right from the front door. Bright yellow Chamisas command the canvas with interesting stem border growth in the foreground. His High Desert Colors is an expansive landscape from orchards to mountains and lovely, billowy clouds.
To the left of those, across the way, are two mixed-media mask constructions, one, Medicine
Man, the other, Untitled, both by Carmen Contreras and really fun. And then to the left of those are Jeanelle Moore’s Tub and
Contemplation, very delightful, sensitive watercolors. Midnight in the Garden of the Dragon
by Valerie is across the way, a whimsical surprise in store! For a “pow” experience, Andy Warhol-like, note Paloma Garcia’s La
Paloma. And so many more, too numerous to list. Really quality art for the squeezed budget.
This is the fifth exhibit of Inside/Out by Compassionate Touch Network, a New Mexicobased 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that says it is “dedicated to promoting mental health literacy utilizing education and the arts. Our primary focus is on the public health challenge of mental illness, suicide and stigma.”
(There will be an artists’ reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13.)
NAMI, the National Association for the Mentally Impaired, cites that 1 in 5 Americans is mentally ill to some degree. Call our local Santa Fe chapter for more information: 505-466-1668. Some notable figures who suffered from mental illness are Beethoven, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill and Ernest Hemingway.
Mental illness is a biological disease of the brain, much like heart disease and diabetes are diseases of the body. The mentally ill do not choose their flawed brain function. They are challenged to learn to deal with it. Enjoy the show.
For more information, visit www.InsideOutSantaFe.org.