Opening: Encaustic Painting: Reviving an Ancient Art by Carol Lopez December 3, 2010

Las Cruces, NM – Beginning on Friday, December 3, 2010 through Thursday, December 30, 2010 the Branigan Cultural Center presents Encaustic Painting: Reviving an Ancient Art, an exhibition by Carol Lopez. An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7pm on Friday, December 3, 2010. The evening will feature music by pianist Bill Thompson from 5pm to 6:45pm.

This exhibition features the works of Carol Lopez, a local artist. Her retablos, small religious icons, are painted with beeswax on old, weathered wood and are examples of true encaustic art. Ms. Lopez will give a Gallery Talk on Saturday, December 4 at 1pm.

Encaustic painting dates back two thousand years. Works are created by melting wax and then using it as a pigment medium. The melted wax can be manipulated with brushes like paint but can also be cooled and then carved.

This style is traced to the ancient Greeks but its popularity spread to Egypt during the Hellenistic period and then to Rome. With time, other techniques became more highly regarded but, in the mid-18th Century, encaustic art experienced its first full-scale revival throughout Europe. In the 20th Century, Central and North American artists from Diego Rivera to Jasper Johns utilized this method.

The Branigan Cultural Center will be closed December 23, 24, 25 and 31 for the holiday season.

The Branigan Cultural Center is located at the north end of the Downtown Mall in Las Cruces at 501 North Main Street. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9a.m. to 4:30p.m. For more information, contact the Branigan Cultural Center at (575) 541-2154 or visit the Center’s website at las-cruces.org/museums.