Arthur Lopez is one of the leading santos carvers in New Mexico.  This piece is one of his more complex carvings, with multiple layers.  It is entitled “Santo Niño de Atocha”. It has the patron saint of Travelers sitting on a chair on a podium. She is set in a sculpted backdrop painted in a traditional New Mexico style.

Arthur said of this piece;

The Santo Nino de Atocha is the patron saint of Travelers. In the Santurio de Chimayo in Chimayo, NM there is a shrine to the Santo Nino de Atocha where pilgrims to the shrine will bring baby shoes as an offering, it is said that the child would wonder the country side at night helping stranded travelers and assist those in most need and in doing so would wear out the soles of his shoes.  The devotion to the Holy Child of Atocha arrived in New Mexico in 1857 when Severiano Medina, a member of the tiny village of El Potrero, became ill and promised that, if he recovered, he would complete a pilgrimage to the shrine of Santo Niño de Atocha in Plateros, Mexico. He carried out this promise and received permission to construct a chapel to host the Holy Child. It was at this chapel where el Santo Niño became part of the culture of the northern Rio Grande Valley.

The process for Arthur’s work is bound in tradition.  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 pigments.  Natural colored pigments, such as brown, are derived from black walnut hulls.   These are the time involved and historic foundations for his work.  

We are pleased to present this amazing body of work from one of the leading Santos artists in the country.  Arthur’s artistic expression continues to break through the history of Traditional Spanish Colonial art in New Mexico. Each piece demonstrates his expressive ideas by utilizing and honoring traditional techniques to arrive at his uniquely contemporary one-of-a-kind creations. Consistently Arthur has pushed the boundaries of the New Mexico Santero tradition that has placed him a the forefront of his craft.

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.