Opening: Las Cruces Arts Association Member Show April 1, 2011

Las Cruces, NM—Three new exhibits will open at the Branigan Cultural Center Friday during the monthly Downtown Ramble. Musician Eddy Harrison will provide music on his handcrafted guitar during the April 1 opening reception from 5pm to 7pm.

“Knock on Wood” gives new life to the trees that formerly lined the Downtown Mall north of Las Cruces Avenue. The Chinese pistache trees were removed as part of the second phase of the redevelopment of the mall. According to Flo Hosa Dougherty, owner of the Blue Gate Gallery, “I knew [removal of the trees] was inevitable.” Dougherty – who worked with the City to obtain the wood from the felled trees – distributed it to artists who created furniture, sculpture and other decorative and functional items from the wood. Dougherty said, “I’m happy to see the trees live on in the artwork.”

The Las Cruces Arts Association’s “49th Members Show” features media ranging from drawing to photography to painting. The Association was founded in 1962 and has served as a venue for artists to network and cultivate the arts in the Mesilla Valley. Since its inception, individual members have formed other local arts organizations; their work has been displayed in local and regional exhibitions, as well in galleries throughout the state and the Southwest.

Gordon Taylor’s “Enchanted” also opens at the Branigan on Friday. Taylor, who resides in Columbus, NM, will exhibit nineteen digitally-enhanced photographs of the New Mexico landscape. The artist is a member of the Columbus/Deming Art at the Western Edge arts organization.

The reception on April 1 is free and open to the public. The exhibitions will remain on view through Saturday, April 30.

The Branigan Cultural Center is located at the north end of the Downtown Mall in Las Cruces at 501 N. Main Street. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9am to 4:30pm. For more information, contact the Branigan Cultural Center at (575) 541-2154 or visit the Center’s web site at lascruces.org/museums.