Chasing Santa Fe: THE ART OF COLLABORATION - DOUGLAS COFFIN. JOSEPH HALL . WALTER NELSON

Georgia O'Keeffe put Abiquiu, New Mexico on the art-world's map, and this extraordinary place continues to draw artists, writers and photographers to its seductive, haunting beauty. I was invited by three Abiquiu artists to see their latest collaborative work and to visit two of their studios. It was a visual tour de force.

DOUGLAS COFFIN (above) & JOSEPH HALL (rt) are across-the-street-neighbors in the hills of Abiquiu, New Mexico. Both are highly-successful artists, creating, evolving and just recently collaborating on diminutive sculptural pieces that reflect their individual dynamic and shared aesthetic.

"An art piece usually has a core idea and details that flesh out the core - both are equally important and create the 'whole' piece. With Doug and myself, one of us creates the core idea for a piece and the other modifies it with the details. Each brings different influences, interests and techniques to this collaborative process. The result is a piece that neither of us would have, or perhaps could have, created by ourselves..." J. Hall

WALTER NELSON

Photo courtesy of Walter Nelson

Joseph also collaborated with photographer, sculptor, painter, and mixed media artist WALTER NELSON - another neighbor in Abiquiu - on a photograph from Nelson's recently-published book - THE BLACK PLACE - TWO SEASONS.

Some photographic studies from the book of Georgia O'Keeffe's beloved Black Place in the Bisti Badlands of Northern New Mexico.

www.walterwnelson.com

J O S E P H H A L L - W O R K A N D S T U D I O

"A Mechanic of Beauty"

There is an interesting dichotomy in Joseph Hall's studio. His handsome contemporary/fine art jewelry has a lyrical, delicacy about it, but the tools and machines that help him create these sculptural beauties are bold and serious - the stuff of a master craftsman.

Joseph uses rare and unusual metals including titanium, 14-24 karat gold, and natural colored and 'conflict free' white diamonds.

www.ringworksstudio.com

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D O U G L A S C O F F I N S T U D I O

One step into Doug Coffin's vast studio you are immediately engulfed in a whirl of color, texture and stuff on every wall and every surface. For this internationally-known sculptor/painter subtle is not an option.