In her world, a platypus has claws
Nov. 18—In one of Suzanne Sbarge's pieces, a cat with a woman's head sits on a chair in a field, gazing at a bird that has alighted nearby. Another features a pelican with a woman's head, wearing a bugle as a crown. A third shows a platypus standing on cactus, with claws rather than webbed feet. Together, they suggest snapshots from an alternate reality.
Sbarge's art is the focus of a nearly monthlong exhibition at Santa Fe's Hecho Gallery, which works primarily with artists from New Mexico and Oaxaca. Sbarge, a Connecticut native who lives in Albuquerque, has a master's degree in art education from the University of New Mexico and has studied studio arts in France, Italy, New York City, and various other spots around the U.S. Her work has been shown in more than 80 group exhibitions and 15 solo shows since the late 1980s, according to Hecho Gallery. She is the founder and executive director of 516 ARTS, a non-collecting contemporary art museum in Albuquerque.
Runs through Nov. 27, Hecho Gallery, 129 W. Palace Ave., 505-455-6882, hecho.gallery
