What's old is new again: 'Iconic: Apogees of Art and Culture' draws from history to create contemporary works

Aug. 8—Life replicates art and artists replicate artists.

At least in the case of the Lapis Room's newest gallery show, "Iconic: Apogees of Art and Culture" from 1 to 3 p.m. every Saturday through Aug. 24 at Fusion, 708 First St. NW.

In collaboration with Fusion, the Lapis Room is presenting an exhibit focused on the influence the world has on contemporary art.

"We selected eight artists in town who have a special place in the community and are really omnipresent with their works," said Laura Houghton, owner of the Lapis Room gallery. "They're all great storytellers, and they draw inspiration really intelligently from art history and know their place in the contemporary community."

Houghton said the gallery decided on a theme for their showing before reaching out to artists who they felt fit the theme the best. From there, the group decided how they wanted to interpret each art form.

"The show evolves by having conversations with artists, so everything happens in a very organic way," she said.

Houghton said the partnership with Fusion has been a long and powerful one, with Fusion regularly hosting the Lapis Room for shows. The galleries had previously connected on a fundraiser together and through that connection, Fusion and Lapis Room decided to work with each other on occasion.

"The toughest part of my job is that we have so many amazing artists that we are kind of limited on what we can show," she said. "Fusion lets us create more opportunity for local artists by annexing their space to us, which broadens our horizons and resources."

As an artist of seven years, Joshua Patterson was excited to contribute his art towards the gallery and work with Lapis Room and Fusion for the first time. Patterson contributed seven pieces to the gallery showing. He said he felt the theme matched his artistic style well because he is always focusing on reinventing the way people connect with art.

"I wanted to reinvent classic pieces of artwork people have in their house like 'The Last Supper' or the 'Atonement of Christ,' " Patterson said. "It's easy to relate to the pieces and it's fun to look at popularized paintings and redo them with your own visions and themes to find new meaning. You get to ask new questions when presented with old art redone."

Patterson also hopes to speak to the community with his art and share his culture. As a Chicano artist, Patterson said a lot of his art is influenced by his culture, and he themes his pieces around what he has experienced.

"I always try to find my cultural roots in my paintings," he said. "I look at how art is used as a tool to share stories and create moments in life while also using it to speak on my culture and community."

Patterson feels his artwork is a blend of his experience in the art world and what his life was previously.

"My art has come to this place where it's hard to explain the art style," he said. "I use spray cans and stencils, so you can call it street art, but a friend described it as the perfect mix of street art and fine art."

Patterson said he hopes his art represents New Mexico and honors the past while looking towards the future.

"I want to represent the streets in the fine art world. I want to represent the idea of bringing the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) to Santa Fe. I want to make a pathway for other artists and bring newness to the art community while still keeping traditions and honoring what brought us here in the first place."