Call Description

Forms of Devotion

Devotion: Love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause. There are many types of devotion.  Some, but not all, involve religion or spirituality.  

This call asks artists living in New Mexico or Arizona to submit work that centers on devotion. 

Co-Curators: Joan Roberts Garcia and Karen Hymer

Joan Roberts Garcia conceived this exhibition. In her own words, she describes the genesis of the idea:

"There are many types of devotion.  Do they share characteristics, no matter what the subject or field is?  This is a question I have been asking myself, since embarking on an art piece entitled “Pierros Eyes”, which began with a reverence for some of the most beautiful paintings I have ever seen: The Legend of the True Cross, a series of frescoes by Pierro della Francesca in Arezzo, Italy.  
Years after visiting Arezzo, I wanted to pay tribute to the artist and the way his painting had affected me in my own work. I had brought a book of the frescos home, and was able to study the expressions on the faces of his subjects, shown in a variety of different settings and circumstances- from grand ceremonies to war and death.  Many of them were looking straight out of the wall. I wondered how far I could simplify the scenes and still retain the powerful essence: If I could capture the emotions by showing only eyes, stripping the subjects of their robes of station, their armor,  even their faces.

With the veneration due a master of our craft, I began to carefully draw the eyes I found to be the most interesting.  This was a different sort of piece that I did not want to control, so I periodically put it aside while I worked on others.  A total of  8 years passed. I learned from Pierro that the human eye is almost reptilian in the details of its folds- showing the depth of study that had preceded the original work - mirrored in my own careful yet simplified copying. I was amazed by the smallest details in a work meant to be seen from far below.

Surprisingly, when released from a surrounding face, the eyes became for me, pairs of flying eyes, like birds or insects.  This was not intentional- but was my work making its own form and meaning.

Later on a trip to the Rubin Museum in NYC, I discovered the Tibetan Thangka - a frame for  Buddhist sacred paintings in fabric that both protects and honors. I loved the contrast between the bunchy, folded cover at the top of the more figurative, formal work, and decided to put my simple painting of eyes in this format.  The brocade chosen is similar to that worn by Pierro’s nobility.  The cover, like the ground for the painting, is raw linen, which for me suggests the earth, humility. The construction demanded collaboration with others skilled in ways I  am not.

My personal devotion was to art and artists- gratitude for a life making art, sharing in the endeavor with artists throughout the centuries. I wanted to venerate our often misunderstood and difficult life choice.  I also felt the power of those gazes strongly, reaching across the centuries to express the same frustrations, pain, and pompousness of the wealthy we see today.  Pierro della Francesca’s work was devotional - I believe-  to the knowledge of the human form, to humanity, and the religious subject he was hired to depict.  The Thangka is an ancient form that is devotional in its intent - as a reverential housing and protection for sacred Buddhist paintings.  During the making, I felt at one with the artists and artisans throughout the centuries.

What other devotional forms and subjects would artists present if asked?"  

Juror Bios: 

Karen Hymer (www.karenhymer.com):

Karen Hymer was born in Tucson, Arizona. She earned her BFA from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Tufts University, Medford, and her MA and MFA in Fine Art Photography from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Karen actively exhibits her work both nationally and internationally. Her work is in several public collections, including the Center for Creative Photography and the Polaroid International Collection. Dark Spring Press released the first book of her work in April 2018.

Karen’s experience and technical interests are wide-ranging. Although “trained” as a photographer and educator, her approach to image making explores the blending of photosensitive materials, digital media, and printmaking. She is fascinated by how the passage of time affects the human body and other natural elements. In addition to working as a fine art photographer, Karen taught photography for over 25 years at Pima Community College, Tucson.

In the summer of 2018, Karen relocated to Silver City, NM, to open and operate Light Art Space in the historic downtown district. The space features galleries, wet darkrooms, a sculpture garden, and a printmaking/teaching studio. Karen teaches workshops and private sessions in Photopolymer Gravure and other alternative photographic processes. She lives on 28 acres of pinon-juniper forest with her standard poodle, Nigel, in an off-the-grid solar adobe home. 
 

Joan Roberts Garcia (www.joanrobertsgarciart.com):

Joan Roberts Garcia is a cross-disciplinary artist.  She lived in Mexico for 8 years as a young woman, then began her formal art education at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where she received many awards and a traveling scholarship for her painting, which she took in Spain and Portugal.  Her research and visual art were influenced for years by the Moorish architecture she witnessed in Spain. Joan then earned an MFA from the University of Washington, also in Painting and Drawing. For the majority of her life, she combined single parenthood of two and being a working artist.  Her art took her and her children to NYC, where she ultimately got involved in art education to support her family, obtaining an EdM from Columbia Teachers College.  While pursuing a Doctorate in art education, she continued to investigate how art communicates across centuries and cultures.  Indeed, her fascination with similarities between diverse forms, which has been a component of much of her abstract mixed media work, is still apparent in her last piece, upon which this exhibition is based.  

Joan has lectured on Women in Art and taught painting and other art forms to students of all ages in public school systems and at the college level. She continues to produce her art as she has always done, even when a single parent, and is glad to have returned to New Mexico and its spectacular beauty. Her work is in museums and international collections.

All of Joan's work is informed by nature and natural effects. She now lives and works in Placitas, New Mexico, with her cat, dog, and duck.  

Submission Requirements

All artists must live in New Mexico or Arizona. 

All entries must be handmade by the artist.  3D and experimental work is encouraged. All media are acceptable, except for AI-generated images. AI work will not be accepted.

There are no exact size requirements; however, space is limited. Work must arrive at the gallery ready to hang, but framing is not required. Magnets, clips, and other methods can be used.  Please inquire before submitting work needing alternative display methods. The artist is responsible for supplying all alternative hanging materials. Three-dimensional work 

Important Dates:

February 8th, 2026 - Midnight Mountain time deadline for submitted work

February 12th– Notification via email

February 25th- Work due at Light Art Space

March 5th – March 28th, 2026 Exhibition dates
March 6th, Opening Reception 5:00 - 7:00 pm.  

Entry Fee:

Entry fee: $35 for three images. $5 for each additional image. 
Artists may enter up to 10 artworks.  You must submit a minimum of 3 images; you can send a detail as one of your three images, or repeat an image if you have fewer than three distinct images. Please indicate this in the image description of each image. 

Curators will select two accepted artists to exhibit at Light Art Space in 2027.

Light Art Space invites all, including Black, Latina, Indigenous people, and all self-identifying people of color, as well as historically underrepresented artists working in the visual arts, to submit. 

Sales:

Sales are encouraged, but artwork does not need to be for sale. Light Art Space will retain a 50% commission on any artwork sold. The sale price on the entry form must include commission and cannot be changed after acceptance. All artwork will remain on display in the exhibition through March 28th, 2026.
 

Application Requirements

Submission Requirements:

Artists must live in New Mexico or Arizona. 

The artist must create all entries; no AI-generated images will be accepted.  

Work must arrive at the gallery ready to hang, but framing is not required. Magnets, clips, and other methods can be used.  

Artists are responsible for delivering and picking up their work and paying all shipping fees.

If accepted, artists will be asked to provide a brief statement to display with the work in the gallery.

Eligibility Criteria

All artists living in New Mexico or Arizona who make handmade work in any medium (except AI-generated images) are eligible to apply.