Luis E. Tapia is a self-taught artist living in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

best known for his innovative wood carvings that blend the local

bulto A ' (English: ' saint') is a piece of one of various religious art forms found in Spain and areas that were colonies of the Kingdom of Spain, consisting of wooden or ivory statues that depict various saints, angels, or Marian titles, or one of ...

tradition with contemporary culture and co-founding La Cofradia de Artes y Artesanos Hispanicos with artist Frederico Vigil. He has also done major restoration work at churches, including the San Francisco de Asis Mission Church in Ranchos de Taos. Tapia's awards include an NEA grant in 1980 and a New Mexico Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts in 1996.

Art and exhibitions

Along with conventional santero religious imagery, Tapia incorporates prostitutes, gangs and

lowriders A lowrider or low rider is a customized car with a lowered body. These customized vehicles are generally individually painted with intricate, colorful designs, rolling on wire-spoke wheels with whitewall tires. Lowrider rims are generally smalle ...

. His santos are often noted for their use of color paint, including commercial watercolors, egg tempera and acrylics. Tapia began exhibiting his work at various fiestas in New Mexico around 1972. Since the mid-1980s his works have been exclusively sold through The Owings Gallery in Santa Fe where he has had several solo exhibitions. In 1986 Tapia was one of several artists in the Houston Fine Arts Center's traveling exhibition ''Hispanic Art in the United States : Thirty Contemporary Painters and Sculptors''. In 2017 Tapia had solo exhibitions at the

Museum of Latin American Art The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) was founded by Dr. Robert Gumbiner in 1996 in Long Beach, California, United States and serves the greater Los Angeles area. MOLAA is the only museum in the United States dedicated to modern and contempora ...

in Long Beach, California and National Museum of Mexican American Art in Chicago, and was the subject of the book ''Borderless: The Art of Luis Tapia''. In 1992 Tapia and the artist, Bernadette Vigil had a two-person exhibition at the Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

La Cofradía de Artes y Artesanos Hispánicos

Tapia, along with fellow artists such as Frederico Vigil, Juanita Jaramillo Lavadie, and Teresa ArchuletaSagel, played an important role in La Cofradía de Artes y Artesanos Hispánicos or simply La Cofradía.

Public collections

* American Folk Art Museum (New York) *

Autry Museum of the American West The Autry Museum of the American West is a museum in Los Angeles, California, dedicated to exploring an inclusive history of the American West. Founded in 1988, the museum presents a wide range of exhibitions and public programs, including le ...

Millicent Rogers Museum The Millicent Rogers Museum is an art museum in Taos, New Mexico, founded in 1956 by the family of Millicent Rogers. Initially the artworks were from the multi-cultural collections of Millicent Rogers and her mother, Mary B. Rogers, who donated ...

Museum of International Folk Art The Museum of International Folk Art is a state-run institution in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. It is one of many cultural institutions operated by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. History The museum was founded by Floren ...

New Mexico Museum of Art The New Mexico Museum of Art is an art museum in Santa Fe governed by the state of New Mexico. It is one of four state-run museums in Santa Fe that are part of the Museum of New Mexico. It is located at 107 West Palace Avenue, one block off the ...

Roswell Museum and Art Center The Roswell Museum (formerly Roswell Museum and Art Center) was founded in 1936 and is located in Roswell, New Mexico, United States. The museum features exhibits about the art and history of the American Southwest, as well as the Robert H. God ...

* Smithsonian National Museum of American Art

Awards and honors

In 2021, Tapia was awarded the Joan Mitchell Fellowship from the

Joan Mitchell Foundation Joan Mitchell (February 12, 1925 – October 30, 1992) was an American artist who worked primarily in painting and printmaking, and also used pastel and made other works on paper. She was an active participant in the New York School of artis ...

. He is a recipient of a 2023

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

awarded by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tapia, Luis Eligio 1950 births Living people Sculptors from New Mexico American woodcarvers Hispanic and Latino American artists 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors National Heritage Fellowship winners 21st-century American sculptors 21st-century American male artists