New Mexico Certified Chile Showcases Chile Postcard Artwork
New Mexico Certified Chile Showcases Chile Postcard Artwork
Capturing the True Spirit of Chile with Artwork from Local New Mexico Artists
The New Mexico Chile Association, announced artists from around the state who are participating in the New Mexico Certified Chile™ Postcard Project, a way to share a colorful and cultural depiction of what chile means to the state of New Mexico.
“Here in New Mexico, we know and love our red and green,” said Joe Wellborn, Vice President of the NMCA, “but if you don’t live here, you might not know where the best chile in the world is produced. We wanted to provide a way for New Mexicans to become chile ambassadors and promote our signature crop around the country and the globe, so we came up with the first-ever New Mexico Certified Chile Postcard Project.”
The NMCA commissioned original works of art from five New Mexico artists with their interpretation of New Mexico Chile and printed the artwork on postcards. The postcards are bundled together in “five-packs,” which include one postcard for each work of art.
The postcards will be made available to the public for free across the state during this year’s chile harvest season.
In their artwork, New Mexican artists have captured the spirit of NMCC and tell the story of heritage, hard work, tradition, and culture. Meet the artists and see their artwork below:
Fernando Padilla
Fernando Padilla, San Felipe Pueblo and Navajo, is an award-winning Native American artist who is nationally and internationally renowned. For more than 40 years, the creativity and versatility of Fernando’s artistic gifts and talents have proven to be innovative as well as powerful statements of Native American culture, southwestern native cultures, in particular. In his artwork featured here, Fernando celebrates the “food of the gods” in both of its glorified essences that we know as Green and Red Chiles of New Mexico. Fernando is from San Felipe Pueblo but has always called Albuquerque his hometown, as it’s been a significant part of his life.
“The Indigenous cultures of the southwest have long utilized these peppers as a supplement to their daily diet. Through the centuries, this spicy, edible delight has graced and enhanced recipes through its various applications, whether fresh, roasted, or dried,” said Fernando. “Every feast day, every Pueblo dance, and every mealtime will have chile dishes on every table. You are invited to pull up a chair to the table, and ‘Taste the Traditions’.”
Jade Leyva
Jade Leyva is an award-winning Magical Realism Artist who was born and raised in Mexico City. She has called the Land of Enchantment her home for many years and currently resides in Placitas, New Mexico. Her work expresses her love of nature, multiculturalism, unity and environmental consciousness. Jade has been creating art since she was a young girl in Mexico City, with her mother being a visual artist. In her adult years, Jade had a 12-year mentorship with late Artist Bill Freeman. Her influences range from pre-Colombian to post-modern. It is at times whimsical, celebratory and reflective, yet always thought-provoking and expressive – a visual “magical realism.” The central themes of her work are love, unity, and our fragile relationship with Mother Earth.
“I have painted some pieces with the theme of chiles before, and I was thrilled to be able to participate in this project. My home country, Mexico, and New Mexico share an ancient culture of chiles, so I felt it was a good fit,” said Jade. “The first thing that comes to mind [when thinking of New Mexico chiles] is tradition. Food crops are a big part of culture, and in New Mexico, chile is at the forefront of that. The state slogan being "Red or Green?" is what inspired this piece. I often depict women in my work as sacred beings – usually corn maidens I was around often growing up in Mexico. This time I wanted to share an image of a chile maiden holding chiles – to give a feel of a chile goddess of sorts, with a halo/crown of green chiles and holding a ristra as a sacred offering.”
Juan Wijngaard
Juan was born and raised in Argentina. Juan, along with his Dutch parents, moved to the Netherlands when he was a teenager. At 19, Juan moved to London and attended art school, majoring in illustration, and became a children's book illustrator. Shortly after moving to New Mexico in 2004, he started painting with oils and egg tempera full time, rekindling his interest in printmaking along the way. Juan is a long-time resident of Corrales, New Mexico.
“Chile and New Mexico are almost synonymous. When I think of chile, I can almost smell green chiles roasting in the fall and see ristras hanging in Portales. Chiles are in evidence throughout the year, be it via taste, smell, or visually.” Juan said. “As a landscape painter, I had the thought of painting a chile field, but it was not chile growing season when I was approached to be part of this project. Since I had been making linocut prints of imaginary match boxes at the time, I instantly saw the image I wanted to produce in my mind and got to work right away.”
Vicente Telles
Vicente Telles is a Santero (painter of saints) and Cultural Iconographer who is driven by the desire to honor the culture and traditions of his native New Mexico. He began painting traditional retablos (saints on carved wood) using natural pigments created from clays and minerals on homemade gesso, which is then sealed with pinon sap varnish. Always looking for ways to push boundaries, his style has evolved to include various reinterpretations of traditional Catholic and Cultural iconography. Vicente is a Nuevomexicano, from the South Valley of Albuquerque.
“New Mexicans have passion when they speak about their chile, and that was also a main driver of my interest in the project,” said Telles. “What came to my mind is the ways I’ve seen chile be an omnipresent fixture on the table and how there are core memories tied to chile. As a child, I distinctly remember my grandparents drying their red chile over chicken wire and seeing people dry their chile on the roofs of their respective homes. So, when I fixed in my mind what the piece should be, I chose to make it a mixed media piece – one that invokes my memories of surface, texture and significance to my memories in using the chicken wire, asphalt shingle, bailing twine, and a burlap sack background. For the chiles themselves, I wanted to invoke the vibrant food culture chile brings to those who are new to eating it and those whose foodways go back to time immemorial.”
Michael Toya
Michael Toya is of Jemez Pueblo descent and currently resides in Isleta Pueblo. At a young age, Michael was certain that he was to become an artist. Being exposed to traditional artwork through familial ties, he was prompted to stay focused on pursuing his dream of becoming an artist. A self-taught artist, Michael works in various mediums, infusing his culturally interpreted designs of spiritual symbolism into every single piece. His works also offer motivational strength and purpose, giving the viewer energy. Michael’s mission is to continue to fight for his people’s existence and educate the world through art and its connection to his Pueblo culture.
“I am a chile fanatic – the hotter the better. If it’s not hot, I’m not interested. To me, I can’t live without it,” Michael said. “I grew up in Jemez; I was a farmer and I helped grow chile and corn, our main crops. When developing this piece, I thought, ‘What did I see when I was caring for the chile?’ I thought about what I saw growing up around our field. We would pray for rain. The Pueblo clouds would roll in and shower us and the farm with blessings. After the rain goes, the rainbow appears – it's a spiritual, beautiful blessing we believe in.”
To learn how to get a free postcard “five-pack” and promote New Mexico Certified Chile, visit https://newmexicochile.org/postcards.
About New Mexico Certified Chile
New Mexico Certified Chile (NMCC) is dedicated to supporting the NM chile industry by increasing demand for NM chile. We strive to create an atmosphere of chile being for of the NM culture, heritage and pride. Our mission is to cultivate the world-renowned varieties grown only here in New Mexican soil and to protect, promote and advocate for the entire industry dedicated to growing this very special crop. NMCC is a program of the New Mexico Chile Association.