In the early 80’s a group of artists gathered together for breakfast at Tia Sophias. There were five of us as I recall with myself, Bill Sortino (who was the instigator), Jamie Chase, Nolan Winkler, and some other person my memory has lost to time. It proved to be the first of many breakfasts. Over the years this group expanded and contracted. People came and went. Visiting artists from around the world ended up at our table which by this time had moved to the old Celebrations Restaurant on Canyon Rd and then to The Inn Of The Governors where there was more space. At one point the group became too large. Conversations became fragmented, and so did the group, only to re-form as a smaller group in another location. During the last four years we’ve been gathering at Harry’s Roadhouse. The 80’s and 90’s were a fertile period in the evolution of The Arts in Santa Fe and in the personal lives of the artists who lived and worked here. The Artist’s Breakfast serves as a touchstone for many of us who were there at the time.
While each of us studied our crafts and busily made plans for our careers, life happened. We changed partners, jobs, and homes, purchased new/old cars, saw our parents to their graves while becoming parents ourselves. We are now older. I don’t know if we are wiser, though I suspect maybe we are. But I know for a fact this: each one of us is still standing. We are still doing the work we were placed on this planet to do. And we are friends who share our long histories of life in Santa Fe. This show is a celebration of these friendships forged over the last 40 years. Stan Berning, 10-19.
Ron Pokrasso opened Graphics Workshop, a print studio, in 1982 and was an originator of MONOTHON. Ron had a profound influence on many artists and continues to this day. He maintains a print and paint studio in Santa Fe while teaching workshops here and around the world.
Frank Ettenberg has been known since his arrival in Santa Fe in the late 70’s for his elegant, complex, and life affirming abstractions. Santa Fe’s equivalent of an ‘Art Star’ in the 80’s and 90’s, he continues to be a creative force.
Bill Sortino, a much loved and well respected fixture of the arts community since the early 80’s has shown in a variety of galleries in Santa Fe, The States, and Europe. He is presently producing large scale abstract paintings based on the iconography of poems.
Joel Greene is a modernist painter and the most constant of the group. He has shown successfully with Ernesto Mayans for the last 30 years.
Stan Berning has been a prolific artist, occasional teacher and writer, and gallery owner. He presently operates ART BOX, a gallery and studio space, located on the Santa Fe Plaza.