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Mel Stone has been running the Mesquite Art Gallery since 2010. In that time, he’s featured the work of dozens of artists.
March will be just a tad different.
Stone presents his own collection of art through March 28.
“I have always been enamored of artists,” Stone said, “but I didn’t start to collect art until much later. Now that I’m a gallery owner, my collection has grown substantially. Unfortunately, it spends a lot of time in storage when the largest gallery room is taken up by [the works of] guest artists.”
Part of the original City of Las Cruces plat, the gallery building – which is also Stone’s home – is an 1898 adobe with thick walls and a welcoming ambience.
He has featured the work of such artists as Raul Dorn, Charles Beck, Joyce Macrorie, Aaron Freeland, Sandi Dahl and Wanda Fuselier, among others. Along the way, he has purchased as well as shown and sold art that catches his eye.
Among the pieces for sale during the March show are two Freelands, a few Macrories and at least one Dorn.
The Dorn piece, titled “Indian Summer,” is the one Stone said is probably his favorite, but he quickly added, “That’s like asking which of your kids you like best.”
Stone – a self-described accomplished photographer – said he likes the realism of quality photography, but in art he looks for something different.
“Almost none of my stuff is representative,” he said. “I’m drawn to work that interpreted by the artist.”
Stone’s website – mesquiteartgallery.com – tells the story of how he landed in Las Cruces a decade ago.
“After teaching in a few colleges and universities for a few years, I became a TV journalist. The last gig was 26 years as a one-man band at the NBC station in Fargo, ND. As I slid into retirement, I bought my first digital still camera (Panasonic FZ30) and high-quality Epson ink jet printer. I showed my work to a Fargo art co-op, joined and sold well. Wanting to escape the brutal cold, I moved to Las Cruces. The art-co-op experience persuaded me to buy something I could live in and have an art gallery, too, thus Mesquite Art Gallery.”
Stone’s photographic work can be viewed at melstonephotography.com.
Mesquite Art Gallery is located about two blocks north of Klein Park at 340 N. Mesquite St. Hours are Thursdays and Fridays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays, 2-5 p.m.
