Nathan Smith, a local photographer and artist, was able to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees of fine arts at New Mexico State University thanks to a full academic scholarship and his dedicated art professors.
Now he is a Las Cruces business owner, paying it forward and helping other alums to show their artwork. Smith recently opened a gallery in Mesilla called Casa Otro, a passion project he sees as a “refuge for creative contemplation centered on what unites rather than separates us.”
“The vision for the space is multi-faceted but the overarching intention is to be a nurturing creative resource and platform for artists in the borderplex area,” Smith said. “Having grown up here and completed both my BFA and MFA degrees from NMSU, it was natural to start putting shows together within the group of talented artists I knew personally in the community.”
This weekend, Smith will be showcasing NMSU alumna Angelica Jones’ paintings. The opening reception of Jones’ exhibit “An Emerging Interior” is from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, October 21 at Casa Otro gallery at 2226 Calle de Guadalupe, Side B. Jones’ exhibition opens one day after the NMSU Art Museum’s opening reception for its newest exhibit “Celia Álvarez Muñoz: Breaking the Binding.”
“Angelica fits the vision of Casa Otro on multiple levels,” Smith explained. “I think the work speaks for itself on a technical level, but she has also demonstrated a commitment to professional growth in her artistic career and in an expressed desire to pursue an MFA.”
“An Emerging Interior” is Jones’ debut solo exhibition and includes large scale oil paintings. Jones, a recent graduate of NMSU with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, received several scholarships and awards and has exhibited her work in both New Mexico and West Texas.
“There is a tension in her work that really resonates with my own experience of trying to develop and learn to express myself both as an artist and a human here in the borderplex,” Smith said. “There is both boldness and uncertainty in the work that rings really true to me and a courage in her journey that I want to support and endorse.”
Smith credits his success to the encouragement and support of two of his former NMSU art professors, Jacklyn St. Aubyn and Joshua Rose, who are still in his life today.
“They became sort of art parents to me and challenged me to think critically and thoughtfully about who I was and what I was trying to communicate,” Smith said. “Art truly was the medium for my own self-reflection and personal growth and I was fortunate enough to have professors who believed in me, nurtured me and saw my potential far before I saw it for myself.”
Smith plans to continue featuring other art alumni work in the future to amplify diverse, young voices.
To learn more about Casa Otro and its events and offerings, please visit https://www.casaotro.com/ or contact Smith directly at nathan@casaotro.com.
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CUTLINE: NMSU alumna Angelica Jones standing with some of her work from “An Emerging Interior.” The exhibit will have its grand opening on Oct. 21 in Casa Otro, a local gallery owned by Nathan Smith. (Courtesy photo)