Altar Visions of the West - New Work by Arthur Lopez

By hand-carving vintage television vessels from organic native wood, Lopez transforms the mid-century screen into a contemporary altar.
About this Event

Arthur Lopez: Altar-Visions of the West

For generations, the global imagination has seen the American West through a cinematic lens—a landscape of Hollywood soundstages, romanticized archetypes, and exported myths. This vintage broadcast loop of cowboys and outlaws created a beautiful, shared story, but it often drifted above a much deeper, more tangible cultural reality that has thrived here for centuries. In Altar-Visions of the West, radical regionalist Arthur Lopez tunes out the static of the mythologized frontier to celebrate the enduring, sacred craftsmanship rooted in the actual earth of the region.

In this series, the mid-century television set is reimagined as a contemporary altar. Just as traditional New Mexican altar screens have historically provided a window into the divine, the vintage screen provided a window into a beautifully fabricated mythology. Lopez playfully collapses the distance between the sacred and the modern by hand-carving these "television" vessels entirely from wood, housing his figures within them. Every knob, vent, and screen is meticulously rendered by hand and finished with natural and water-based pigments—transforming the mass-produced geometry of industrial design into an intimate, artisan creation.

While these works draw directly from a deep-rooted regional lineage, they transcend the boundaries of traditional devotional objects to stand as masterful works of contemporary fine art. Lopez uses his virtuosic carving skills to engage in a sophisticated, witty dialogue with modern media. The result is a stunning technical paradox: rigid, mid-century technology sculpted from organic native materials. These pieces do not rely on found electronic components; they are skilled feats of pure sculpture, where every grain line and chiseled dial represents a deliberate aesthetic choice. Within these labor-intensive wooden consoles, the figures stand as the true, enduring anchors of regional identity.

The individual pieces in the exhibition serve as specific, conceptual channels. In "Clara-vision," the centerpiece of the show, Saint Clare of Assisi—the patron saint of television—is fittingly framed within a meticulously hand-carved wooden screen, bridging 13th-century mysticism with the modern electronic age. "Pasqual-a-tron" tunes into Saint Paschal Baylon, the patron saint of cooks and kitchens, warmly reframing the domestic hearth through the lens of mid-century Americana. Nearby, “Kateri-View" occupies her own screen, anchoring the space with her indigenous heritage and reminding the viewer of a sacred presence that long predates the broadcast.

Altar-Visions of the West is an invitation to look past the screen and touch the grain. It reminds us that while myths are transmitted through airwaves, true culture is carved from the earth. Through this stunning new body of work, Lopez honors the hand of the artisan and proves that in a fast-paced digital era, the most radical act an artist can perform is to stay deeply, unapologetically rooted in their own culture.

“Clara-vision," Prime Time Premier:

“Clara-Vision” (Clear View), the centerpiece of the show, features Saint Clare of Assisi—the patron saint of television—fittingly framed within a meticulously hand-carved wooden screen. This Prime-Time Premiere beautifully bridges 13th-century mysticism with the modern electronic age. Tune in for an inspired presentation honoring the patron saint of television herself!

Captured in High-Definition detail, Clara-Vision radiates from an elegant, floor-model wooden cabinet complete with retro rabbit-ear antennas. The carved broadcast features St. Clare (Santa Clara) holding a gleaming monstrance, surrounded by billowing, stylized clouds and a small cherub. In this beautifully localized scene, she is situated right within the historic Santa Clara Pueblo, with the traditional adobe architecture of the Santa Clara mission church standing under a golden sky. This broadcast is a masterful, nostalgic blend of Mid-Century design and deep-rooted regional devotion that perfectly bridges timeless faith and pop-culture nostalgia.