Gallery One
Gallery One ● 1 Civic Plaza NW, Suite 1400, Albuquerque, NM 87102 ● [email protected]
Gallery One is a light and bright art gallery space. The goals and mission of Gallery One is to foster an intersection between Albuquerque artists, the community and City government that engages and draws new, diverse audiences and provides more exhibition opportunities to local emerging artists. The space will serve as an educational resource with exhibitions that complement and support existing Public Art Urban Enhancement Division programming.
The Public Art Urban Enhancement Division Team brings the best in local art and artists to showcase Albuquerque's position as a true art mecca. The Division's professional arts management team members have decades of combined experience in gallery curation and management, museum exhibitions, education and outreach, artists professional development and arts programming.
The Gallery One space includes the old City of Albuquerque Treasury vault, which has been converted into a small installation space, the Art Vault. The Art Vault at Gallery One is a new space for artists to experiment and play with interactive, temporary installations.
Regular hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery is free and open to the public during regular hours of operation. Gallery One will be closed for holidays observed by the City.
For more information, email [email protected].
Upcoming Programs
All Gallery One programs and events are free and open to the public.
- There are no upcoming programs or events at this time.
Gallery Shows & Events
New Iconic Signs
A new exhibition at Gallery One in City Hall reimagines Albuquerque's empty signs through designs that reflect community care, culture, and history. New Iconic Signs opens with an artist reception on Thursday, December 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. and will feature vibrant risograph prints by 15 local artists.
With support from the City of Albuquerque's Public Art Program, Friends of the Orphan Signs (FOS) partnered with the community risograph studio, Risolana, to organize the New Iconic Signs Design Charrette project. A charrette is a collaborative planning process with diverse community representatives who brainstorm new possibilities for transformative community change.
The exhibition is organized into four sections that encapsulate prominent ideas and values discussed in the charrettes and reflected in the artworks. The prints in New Iconic Signs imagine signs that better reflect our culture, roots, and history; tell new stories; resist generic consumer messaging; and elevate messages of community care, self-care, and resistance. Motivated by ideas from the creative and collective brainstorming experience in the charrette sessions, the risographs on display present each artist's unique vision of what new iconic signs can be.
Artists include: Aiko Jio; Alayne Ballantine; Blythe Mariano; Carlos Contreras; Celine Gordon; Dusty Deen; Gael Luna; Gus Tafoya; Isabel Tafoya; Joseph Stacey; Kori Wood; Maya Key-Towne; Roberta Begaye; Shawn Smith Newcomm; and Zahra Marwan.
New Iconic Signs will be on view through February 14. The opening reception and exhibition are free and open to the public.
Art Vault: The Chinese Garden
A new temporary installation by Caroline Liu recreates The Chinese Garden in the Mimbres Valley and emphasizes the importance of remembering the forgotten chapters of New Mexico history. The installation in the Art Vault at Gallery One in City Hall will open with a reception on Thursday, December 19 from 5 to 7 p.m.
In the heart of the Mimbres Valley in the late 1800s, lived the Wah family who ran an established garden full of flowers, vegetables, and fruits that was called an "Oasis in the Desert." This family provided much of the food for the neighboring towns and was considered a destination retreat for tourists to visit.
It was common during this time to witness and experience racism against Chinese Americans. This time period was called 'The Yellow Peril,' where many Anglo-Americans viewed the Chinese population as a threat to their livelihoods and demanded their exile back to China which resulted in the Chinese Exclusion Act of May 1882. The Chinese community endured anti-Chinese violence, forced segregation, and less access to lawful protection. The act remained in effect for 61 years until it was finally repealed in December 17, 1943, when Chinese people were legally allowed to enter the US and engage in civic activities.
"This installation takes inspiration from the Wah family's garden to shine light on a Chinese family that persevered to create something beautiful for their family, their culture, and their community," said Liu. "The Wah family, along with many other Chinese families, laid the foundation for the thriving Chinese communities that flourish in New Mexico today.
Visitors are invited to look through news articles and documents posted on the trailhead board to uncover the code to open the door to a vibrant, imaginative garden protected with Menshen, traditional Chinese Deities that protect inhabitants from any harm and encourages positive spirits to enter.
Liu's installation will be on view in the Art Vault through March 2025.
Na(rra)tive
A new exhibition featuring 23 legendary Indigenous artists will open at City Hall’s Gallery One on Thursday, October 10 with a soft opening from 3 to 5 p.m. NA(RRA)TIVE is the first exhibit that examines the city’s Indigenous public art collection and challenges it from a moral and artistic perspective. Both the opening and exhibition are open and free to the public.
Every collection tells a story. But what if that story says more about the collector than the subject? Is the collection seen from a skewed lens? Do we subconsciously look at Native Arts as a romantic stereotype of bare-chested braves on horseback? Or has the collection attempted over time to include an authentic voice?
The Public Art Urban Enhancement Division takes an introspective look at 45 years of public art in Albuquerque to see how far we’ve moved from the “settler’s gaze,” if at all, to better understand the historic and cultural impact these works have on the New Mexico Arts experience.
Artists include: Jaune Quick-to-See Smith; Lonnie Vigil; Caroline Carpio; Kathleen Wall; Lorraine Gala Lewis; Marilyn Ray; Del Curfman; Roderick Kaskalla; Dinah & Peter Gasper; Cippy CrazyHorse; Phil Hughte; C. Maurus Chino; Mateo Romero; Roderick Tenorio; Deborah Jojola; Neal Ambrose Smith; George Rivera; Jonathan Warm Day; Nora Naranjo Morse; and Daniel Walters.
A special artist celebration will be held on November 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. NA(RRA)TIVE will be on view through December 6. Gallery One hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Gallery One is located on the first floor of City Hall at 1 Civic Plaza NW.
Punched Tin and Poet Laureate Exhibition
A celebration of Albuquerque culture shines in a new exhibit hosted by the City of Albuquerque's Public Art Program at Gallery One. A year-long collaboration between six of the region's top punched tin artisans and the City's Poets Laureate reveal intimate recollections of nature, places, and people designed in tin and copper.
Each of the poets carefully selected an excerpt from a poem in their collection that best reflects what Albuquerque means to them and then were paired with the artist that captured their words in tin.
The pairings of artists and Poets Laureate are:
- Justin Gallegos Mayrant - Hakim Bellamy (2012-2014)
- Josh Bond - Jessica Helen Lopez (2014-2016)
- Esteban Duran - Manuel Gonzalez (2016-2018)
- Roberto Gallegos - Michelle Otero (2018-2020)
- Richard Gabriel, Jr. - Mary Oishi (2020-2022)
- Michael Worthen - Anna C. Martinez (2022-2024)
The opening reception of the Punched Tin and Poets Laureate exhibition is Thursday, August 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The exhibition will be on view through September 20. Gallery One hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Gallery One is located on the first floor of City Hall at 1 Civic Plaza NW.
Learn more about the Punched Tin Artist and Poet Laureate Frame Project.
Interpretive Reflections
Introspection is the tool of artists. And Interpretive Reflections is an exhibition of works by local artists who offer an innovative approach to introspection. Gallery One, at 1 Civic Plaza NW, presents Interpretive Reflections featuring works by Gael Luna; Al Na' Ir Lara; Jocelyn Salaz; Eric Romero; Vicente Telles; Karl Bautista; Derrick Montez; Pico de Hierro-Villa; Nacho Jaramillo; Ronn Cancino; Felix Lucero; Oscar Lozoya; Samantha Chavez; and Vanessa Alvarado.
The exhibition opens on Thursday, June 20 with a public reception from 5 to 7 p.m.
According to Gallery Curator Augustine Romero, self-portraits express renderings of oneself, with hints of identity. A self-portrait is a snapshot of a unique presence, a mirror of a state of mind. They literally invite us into the personal space, politics, spiritual ideologies, and symbolic identities that each artist creates. Artists transform abstract literal clues into pieces of art that offer new perspectives of oneself. Our reflections are constructed by who we think we are. Introspection, belief, and lived experience are mediums in the pallet of creation.
Romero adds, the present moment is made up of politics, survival, personal reflection, and transformation of being in the moment. Being in the here and now is a statement about the time and space we live in. Artists create works that transform abstract feelings into literal clues that offer new perspectives of oneself.
Interpretive Reflections is on view through August 2.
Juneteenth Art Exhibit
Opens Friday, June 14 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Gallery One Satellite Gallery in the 8th floor lobby of City Hall.
The Juneteenth Art Exhibit features artwork by more than 13 artists that examines Black history, or Frontierism in the Southwest, what it means to be a Black New Mexican today, and what Afro-Futurism could reveal for Black life in the high desert.
The exhibit is free and open to the public through July 31.
Prototype: Rail Trail Art & Technology Internet of Things Exhibition
Opens Thursday, May 2 from 4-7 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public and on view through June 7.
The City of Albuquerque's Public Art Program is pleased to feature an exhibition of 10 local artists' proposals and prototypes for public artworks that could someday be enlarged and installed along the proposed Rail Trail. Working in partnership with the City's Department of Technology & Innovation and the CNM Ingenuity's Internet of Things (IoT) and Rapid Prototyping Bootcamp coding program, two groups of artists learned how to blend public art concepts with basic internet driven technology to create interactive and science based public art prototypes.
Over two CNM semesters, 10 artists were selected to participate in a special artist focused technology course offered through the CNM Ingenuity's IoT and Rapid Prototyping Bootcamp. The bootcamp provided education and training to build devices and experiences with smart connect computing suitable for temporary public art applications. The goal was to train artists who seek to include a digital/technology component to their traditional public art practice and commission 10 experimental, temporary works of art that are examples of how technology and art can be combined along the Rail Trail. All 10 IoT prototypes, plus an historical "art and technology" public artwork from the City's collection commissioned in 1986, will be on display in Gallery One.
Participating artists include James Black; Adrian Pijoan; Owen Schwab; Katie Neeley; Viola Arduini; Zuyva Sevilla; Emily Silva; Evelyn Rosenberg; CK Cooper; and Celestino Crowhill.
Be sure to check out the next three episodes of the Public Art Take Another Look Podcast all about art and technology!
2024 Employee Art Exhibit
Opens Wednesday, March 27, 2024 with a opening reception from 4-7 p.m. The exhibition will be on view through April 19 and is free and open to the public.
Gallery One is proud to present the 3rd Employee Art Exhibit curated by Augustine Romero. The Employee Art Exhibit creates an opportunity to get to know your co-worker from a different point of view. The ability to share the creative spirit is a welcomed departure from the serious task of City employment. This is an exciting show to watch blossom into an exhibit that feels very welcoming and spontaneous.
The exhibition has artwork by 71 City employees representing every City department, including original music compositions by employees that will be sonically curated for the exhibition.
A Day in the Life
Opens Friday, January 5, 2024 with a reception and City Hall Public Art Open House from 5-8 p.m. The exhibition will be on view through March 7.
24 hours can change a life in the simplest of ways. A hot meal delivery. Finding a puppy a forever home. Or helping someone plan dreams for their family. City of Albuquerque workers do all that and more in a day. They know the depth of work it takes to make change happen for people who count on the city to work for them.
Seven local photographers sought to reveal the human side of city government. Assigned or 'embedded' with a selected department for 24 hours, they documented the people who make our city run. "A Day in the Life" is a study of how we are all an important part of improving our Quality of Life.
The exhibit features photographs by Max Woltman, Sean Wright, Angel Gil Lopez, Jessica Lozoya, Adrian Martin, Jessica Roybal, and Pico del Hierro-Villa; and highlights the work of seven city departments: Senior Affairs, Arts & Culture, Solid Waste, Parks and Recreation, Animal Welfare, Albuquerque Community Safety, and Planning. The exhibit also features poetry by Hakim Bellamy and an installation in the Art Vault by Adrian Pijoan.
Each series of photographs in this Inaugural Gallery One exhibit will also be installed in the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History Photo Archives.
Check out the Gallery One Inaugural Exhibition video.