News Article

Gonzaga University art Professor Terry Gieber, a ceramic artist, is among 11 American and international artists invited to display and sell their work on Friday, July 11 when the Preston Contemporary Art Center opens in the Mercado district of Mesilla, N.M., with its Inaugural Exhibition. The exhibition and sale of high-quality contemporary art in all media by domestic and international professional artists will take place in the 12,800-square-foot Art Center.

The Art Center also houses the Mesilla Digital Imaging Workshops, which will offer computer arts instruction in a series of weekend workshops. The Inaugural Exhibition will open in the Preston Art Galleries on July 11 with a reception from 6-8 p.m. for the public to visit the new facility and meet several of the exhibiting artists, including Gieber.

The Inaugural Exhibition will display the works in the Center’s three interior galleries and outdoor sculpture garden. Artworks will include paintings, sculptural collage, fiber art, ceramic sculpture, photography, wood sculpture and digital collage. All of the contemporary artworks are of museum quality. Organizers said the display of works of a large number of artists of various mediums in the Inaugural Exhibitionwill introduce the breadth and scope that the gallery will represent. Future exhibitions are scheduled quarterly in October, January, April and July.

The artists in the exhibition are as follows: Roger Atkins, Santa Fe, N.M., wood sculpture; Antonio Castro L., Juarez, Mexico, painting; Gisela Colón, Los Angeles, painting; Maria-Theresa Fernandes, London, fiber art; Karen Fitzgerald, Woodside, N.Y., painting; Terry Gieber, Spokane, Wash., ceramic sculpture; Kazumitsu Okutomi, Medinah, Ariz., photography; Sandra Mendez, Dyer, Ind., digital collage; Sam Peters, Las Cruces, N.M., sculptural collage; Susan Puelz, Lincoln, Neb., watercolor; Jack Roberts, Sedona, Ariz., painting.

Regular hours of operation are Wednesday and Thursday, 1-5 p.m.; Friday, 1-7 pm; Saturday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sunday, 2-4 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday except by appointment. The Preston Contemporary Art Center is located at 1755 Avenida de Mercado, Mesilla, N.M., southwest of I-10, Exit 140. For more information about the Preston Contemporary Art galleries, the exhibiting artists or the Mesilla Digital Imaging Workshops, call (575) 523-8713.