Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

Mata Ortiz and so much more at Chimayo Trading Del Norte

Staff report June 30, 2023 Updated Feb 2, 2023

The village of Mata Ortiz is mourning the loss of their leader, their teacher and their inspiration: Juan Quezada, the man who rediscovered the ancient art form of pottery that lifted an entire town out of poverty and obscurity to become an international destination spot for its exquisite pottery, coveted by art lovers and collectors.

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

The Legacy of Clarence Medina

Staff report Dec 13, 2022 Updated Dec 15, 2022

Paintings of spectacular moments on ordinary days perfectly describe the paintings Clarence Medina made. His work has the immediacy of being painted on location en plein air, making it easy to see through the artist’s eyes, allowing the scene to envelope you.

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

Painting the Light –
Anja Wulf at Chimayo Trading Taos

Staff report Sep 19, 2022 Updated Sep 22, 2022

Anja Wulf’s landscape paintings are “visual poetry, revealed in form, light and color.” Rebekah Powers, one of the gallery staff at Chimayo Trading Del Norte, remarked that “when people walk into the gallery, they stop to ponder Wulf’s landscape paintings.

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

The three-dimensional expressiveness of painter Brad Teare – at Chimayo Trading Taos

Staff report Sep 6, 2022 Updated Sep 8, 2022

There are few artists today who can paint using the impasto technique practiced by eminent artists like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Rembrandt van Rijn, Diego Velázquez, Vincent van Gogh — and realize the expressiveness that Brad Teare achieves, according to Gabriel Abrums, co-owner with Alicia Abrums of Chimayo Trading Del Norte.

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

In The Old Masters’ Style – William Martin at Chimayo Trading Taos

by Tamra Testerman | August 30, 2022

Artist William Martin began painting in oils after studying architecture and garnering many awards for his architectural watercolor renderings – soon after he realized his passion was painting and never looked back.

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

J. Chris Morel at Chimayo Trading

by Tamra Testerman | June 6, 2022

When the violet-red fire clouds of the Calf Canyon–Hermits Peak blaze were perilously close to Sipapu, the air thick with ashy smoke, Taos painter and musician J. Chris Morel prepared to evacuate — grabbing photographs of his three children, guitars and canvases of unfinished work, frames and a favorite easel.

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

Kachina carver Poleyestewa at Chimayo Trading

by Tamra Testerman | June 1, 2022

Kachina carver Poleyestewa is a spiritually-guided artist and renaissance man who learned to carve Kachinas from his father. He is a traditionalist, soft-spoken and humble, with a veneration for the hallowed nature of his work, which is steeped in tradition.

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

An articulated life –
Diné artist Sheldon Harvey at Chimayo Trading Del Norte

by Tamra Testerman | March 21, 2022

Beyond the creative impulse, some artists explore through their work how they can transmute their talent to serve a higher purpose. 

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

Generations in Native style: The restless genius of Erik Fender

by Tamra Testerman | Jan 6, 2022

Pottery was created by ancestral Puebloan people not as a revered art form, but as a practical necessity to store grains and seeds, carry water, and cook food. The creation is done by hand, and little has changed in the process for over a thousand years.

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

Spirits of Nature:
Kachina carver
Glenn Fred

by Tamra Testerman | Dec 23, 2021

Master Kachina carver Glen Fred comes from the Hopi village of Bacavi. He is “towards the bottom in age” of a family lineup of 8 girls and 8 boys. His father served as the village governor several times.

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

The chiaroscuro of Margaret Nes

by Tamra Testerman | Nov 18, 2021

A 1939 photograph of a bell pepper by Edward Weston in Life Magazine was one of many photographs that influenced the aesthetics of Taos artist Margaret Nes. “I was very nearsighted as a child, so I saw things that were close, and saw little detail in the distance. 

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

The quiet strength of
Ann Huston

by Tamra Testerman | Nov 4, 2021

A few weeks after the success of ‘Eleven,’ the first exhibit of contemporary art at Chimayo Trading Del Norte, one of the artists in the show, Ann Huston went to retrieve her work and was met at the door by owner Gabriel Abrums, who asked her if she’d like to join the Chimayo family. 

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

The painter who traded

Ralph Meyers

by Tamra Testerman | Sep 30, 2021

Taos renaissance man Ralph Waldo Emerson Meyers (1885-1948) is a “true Taos character” according to Gabriel Abrums, owner of Chimayo Trading Del Norte in the Saint Francis Plaza.

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

ELEVEN

by Tamra Testerman | Sep 23, 2021

Numerology is the theory that there is a mystical relationship between a number and coinciding events. Eleven is considered a “master number” that holds significant power. It is considered by some to be a “messenger from the universe and spiritual awareness.”

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

Take a walk on the Southside

by Tamra Testerman | Sep 23, 2021 Updated Sep 27, 2021

There are a few artists who live and work on the south side of Taos who were zipping around town to a few locations this weekend for the Taos Fall Arts Festival. Sculptor artist T.J. Mabrey was one of them.

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

Walt Gonske at
Chimayo Trading

by Tamra Testerman | Updated Sep 15, 2021

In the early 1970s, Taos artist Walt Gonske was working on a lucrative career as a freelance men’s fashion illustrator in NYC. He was in demand and turning work around at a big city pace. 

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

Michelle Tsosie Sisneros at Chimayo Trading Del Norte

by Tamra Testerman | Aug 19, 2021 Updated Aug 25, 2021

Award-winning artist, Michelle Tsosie Sisneros of Santa Clara, Navajo and Laguna tribes, paints traditional Native American themes with bold abstract elements and surrealist influences. She is the niece of Pablita Velarde – the grandmother of flat Navajo painting who may be the most famous female painter in Navajo history.

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

The Laughing family business 

Tamra Testerman | Jul 7, 2021 Updated Jul 12, 2021

The day for award-winning weavers Mona and daughter Charlene Laughing begins at sunrise on the Diné (Navajo) Reservation in Crystal, New Mexico, with family and a flock of churro and merino sheep to look after, 31 in all. Each with a name. 

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

All in the family
Chimayo Trading
spans generations

Tamra Testerman | Mar 3, 2021 Updated Mar 3, 2021

Chimayo Trading Del Norte is nestled in the Ranchos Plaza in the shadow of the iconic Saint Francis church in Ranchos de Taos. Owner Gabriel Abrums and wife Alicia said this location is significant to them and their family “because it represents true, authentic New Mexico.

Originally published in Taos News, Metro Section >>

Authentic Old West Style

Mandy Sotelo | Updated Jan 28, 2021

Is the Old West still in style? Of course it is:  It never left, says two of the region’s most authoritative purveyors of all things southwestern.

Gabriel Abrums of Chimayo Trading Del Norte and Chris Ferguson of Tres Estrellas Design sat down with Enchanted Homes to share their perspectives on historical and contemporary southwestern home furnishings, and the ease with which these elements may be incorporated into your home regardless of your decorating style.