Mary and Karl Hofmann: Our Placitas

Runs through 09/29/2019.

Mary and Karl Hofmann are the featured artists at Wild Hearts Gallery with their exhibition running from August 27 through September 29. The public is invited to the artists’ reception on Saturday, September 7 from 1-4 pm. Light refreshments will be served. Wild Hearts Gallery is located in Placitas, at the Homestead Village, 221-B State Highway 165, 2 ½ miles from I-25.

Forty-three years ago, Placitas cast a spell on Mary and Karl Hofmann.  Once they discovered this place with its centuries of history and budding art scene, they were here to stay.  “Our Placitas” is a tribute to their adopted home, expressed with the pottery for which they have become famous and a new series of linocut images.

 The Placitas landscape has undoubtedly affected Mary and Karl’s aesthetic.  Mary says: “Living in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains and enjoying the blue skies, the red earth and enduring mesas has influenced the decoration of Hofmann pottery.” Karl believes the craft of pottery and relief printmaking asks for focus to find essential qualities which leads to simplification or abstraction.  He says: “I try to catch the heat, the color, the mystery and the magic of this ever changing landscape.  Step into the print and experience it.”  The depth and color for which his work is known comes from the many layers used to make the print.

The work in “Our Placitas” tribute will include linocut images “Placitas Moon” and “Jemez Red Rocks”, done on special printmaking paper and of course, the recognizable and most treasured shapes and designs of Hofmann pottery.

Wild Hearts Gallery is an artists' collective, supported by 14 longtime local artists. Gallery hours are: Tuesday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.