Arts Council’s August show: ‘Disrupted, Perspective to the Time’ by the Ten o’Clock Club

The August Doña Ana Arts Council (DAAC) exhibition features the Ten o'Clock Club's perspective on the pandemic in a show titled “Disrupted.”

The show will feature work reflecting emotion, observations and change as these artists navigated the course of the pandemic over the last 16 months.

The founding members -- Penny Duncklee, June Decker, Alice Dressler, Jean Smith and Margaret Bernstein -- started this group in Las Cruces in 2005. They met at cafés on the 10^th day of each month at 10 a.m. to share ideas and artwork. The overall intention of the group was and still is to encourage members to stop each day at 10 a.m. and devote time to art.

Today, the group, often referred to as The Tenners, continues its contagious enthusiasm for all art endeavors in the community. The diversity of art mediums within the group includes assemblages, printmaking, painting, encaustic, weaving, jewelry and ceramics. The artwork in “Disrupted” reflects the diversity of the group. Overall, as a group, the artists explore resilience, renewal, reflection, loss, and love through their art.

Noël Sandino's work is straightforward in its relation to the pandemic.

“My installation is a representation of the inconvenience of staying at home and the need to reach out in prayer for ourselves and our loved ones,” Sandio said. “When people feel helpless, when they experience something uncertain, they pray.”

Several artists have focused on portraits showing a depth of emotion.

Kathleen Deasy’s painting “Dr. M” represents the frontline workers frequently seen in the news and social media. “I chose her from several photos because I related to her eyes,” said Deasy, who is a retired nurse.

Maria Lopez's figurative portraits are questioning.

“My work evokes the psychological impact felt while most of us were separated from our loved ones,”
Lopez said.. “The faces portray the universal emotions of disruption in our lives during the past year.”

When New Mexico reached a turquoise status (in the state’s Covid-19 tracking system), Rosemary McLoughlin created two paintings to honor the transition. Both “Cat and Koi” and “Jo's Chair” are a nod to McLoughlin's fellow artists Janice Cook and Jo Rango and a celebration of moving forward.

"My friend, artist Jo Rango, had an old kitchen chair that became transformed when she painted it turquoise," said McLoughlin. "I celebrated both New Mexico's turquoise status during Covid and my friend Jo, with a painting titled ‘Jo's Chair’ of a chair, embellishing it with some of Jo's own wonderful and whimsical creatures.”

In addition to the curated exhibition, the group will also feature smaller works for sale by Jan Archey, Georjeanna Feltha, Carrie Greer, Vickie Morrow and Gabriele Teich. Teich has also created a Free Little Art Gallery in which patrons can contribute and exchange artwork. 

Other artists contributing to the show include: Dani Anderson, Diana Ayres, Margaret Bernstein, Christina Campbell, Lisa Carlson, Rebecca Courtney, Penny Duncklee, Carol Eggers, Linda Elkins, Jan Minow, Caroline Ryan and Leslie Toombs.

Over the years, the Ten o'Clock Club has painted murals and exhibited work in café venues. As part of the First Friday Art Rambles, the group has had many environmentally related exhibits at the Southwest Environmental Center and theater-related exhibits in the Black Box Theatre. In the last two years, they have exhibited at DAAC, the Mesquite Art Gallery, the Center for Spiritual Living and the Frame and Art Center in Las Cruces.  They are planning an exhibit at AA Studios this coming November.

The Doña Ana Arts & Cultural Center and DAAC administrative offices are located at 250 W. Amador Ave. and are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. the second Saturday of each month (Aug. 14, Sept. 11, Oct. 9, Nov. 13 and Dec. 11). 

Contact DAAC at 575-524-6403. Visit www.daarts.org.