CURRENTS

The opening of Vladem Contemporary marks a new wave for New Mexico Museum of Art.

The opening of Vladem Contemporary marks a new wave for New Mexico Museum of Art. With the September 23, 2023, public opening of Vladem Contemporary, the New Mexico in Santa Fe in decades. Here are five things to know about the new artistic hub: 1 Vladem Contemporary is an adaptive reuse renovation of the former Joseph F. Halpin New Mexico State Records Center and Archives, which in its former life was the Charles Ilfeld Mercantile Company warehouse. An 18,000square-foot addition blends with an existing 20,000-square-foot 1930s brick-and-steel warehouse in the Railyard District to provide a new venue at which to show and store the museum’s contemporary collection. 2 The museum’s inaugural exhibition, Shadow and Light (through April 28), explores the physical and metaphorical contrasts of light and dark and features the work of presentday New Mexican artists such as Larry Bell, Judy Chicago, and Virgil Ortiz, and that of greats from New Mexico history, such as Agnes Martin. 3 The museum’s Window Box Project spotlights commissions by emerging New Mexican artists. Following the inaugural installation from artist Cristina González, the changing exhibit space highlights the work of Morgan Barnard and Ileana Alarcon in the first year. 4 Astral Array, an LED installation from Albuquerque artist Leo Villareal, greets visitors near the building’s south entrance. 5 Vladem Contemporary’s artist-in-residence program invites contemporary artists to work in a dedicated studio space. The inaugural artist in residence, Oswaldo Maciá, creates an outdoor sound sculpture utilizing calls from migrating animals and insects.