Arthur Lopez is one of the leading santos carvers in New Mexico.  After the piece is carved, is covered in gesso (a glue made from rabbit hide) which is allowed to dry and then sanded.  It is painted with both natural and watercolor pigment.  Natural colored pigments, such as the brown, are derived from black walnut hulls.   These are the time involved and historic foundations for his work.  This piece is entitled, “Geo-Madre-Lupe”.   It is a series of interconnected pieces based on the Virgin of Guadalupe.  Arthur said of this piece:

“I titled this, “Geo-Madre-Lupe”.  It is an abstract geoemtric form of the Virgin of Guadalupe.  It is based on the idea of building blocks of faith.  This is the first is a series based on this concept based on geometric shapes and forms.  Their iconography remains visually intact but the concept feels modern”.

The piece is very intricately painted and the placement of the squares seems both fragile and yet perfectly balanced.  The large size gives the piece an exceptional appearance in person!

Arthur’s work is found in numerous museum and public collections, including Albuquerque Museum of Art & History,  Denver Art Museum,  Freedom Museum (911 Memorial at Ground Zero), Harwood Museum of Art, Museum of International Folk Art,  Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, and the State of New Mexico Permanent Art Collection.