12.30.22 Jim Vogel

Jim Vogel
Taos Painter and Storyteller

By Rebekah Powers | December 2022

Jim Vogel masterfully weaves color and emotion, meaning and myth into paintings that reflect the people and places in New Mexico that are dear to his heart.

From a family of storytellers, Vogel pays homage in each of his works to folklore that has been handed down through generations of his family, preserving myths that have survived across cultures with ancient wisdom that remains relevant today.

Chimayo Trading is now showing a prime example of Jim Vogel’s aesthetic in the small painting “A Bird in the Hand”. An older man sits in a New Mexican setting with his hand extended toward a bird. The men in Vogel’s “painted stories” often have large work worn hands, gnarled with age. In this painting, we can imagine two stories, one where the man is releasing the bird and one where he is beckoning it. The choice, it seems, is up to the viewer to interpret Jim Vogel’s version of the parable: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

The beautiful handmade tin frame further contextualizes the story, creating a “stage” for the idea to play out. The crosses in the lower corners, the subtle religious references and southwestern feel all combine to offer the viewer just what Jim Vogel does best: convey a moment in time, a choice point that may change the entire direction of one’s life with one small decision.

We are open every day until 5 PM and welcome browsers and the curious to our many adobe showrooms, where history meets art at Chimayo Trading Del Norte.

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Come to the gallery to see where History Meets Art in Taos..

#1 Saint Francis Church Plaza
Ranchos de Taos, NM 87557

575.758.0504

We buy individual pieces or whole collections.

Contact us for the evaluation and resale of your collectible art.
We’re interested in locating relevant collections and original New Mexico artwork for purchase. We buy historic and contemporary relevant paintings, pottery, jewelry, textiles, weavings and more.

Contact us directly to discuss and evaluate your collection. If you’re an artist, contact us about the possibility of selling your art on consignment or direct wholesale purchase.

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