Arturo Chavez

Chávez, a thirteenth-generation New Mexican, traces his roots to 1600 when the first in his Chávez line arrived in New Mexico from Spain. Raised amid the spectacular vistas of northern New Mexico, Chávez has long been deeply inspired to express his feeling for the landscape through his paintings. Through his works, he aims to inspire people to share his inspiration and to preserve the natural landscape throughout the American Southwest that has sustained his creative life. 

Chávez painted throughout his youth and early adulthood, turning his devotion to art into a full-time painting career in 1980. Since then, he has exhibited widely in the U.S., including at the Tucson Desert Art Museum, the Phoenix Art Museum, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, and the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis. He has also received numerous awards, including international recognition with two-year honorary exhibitions in the U.S. Embassies in Russia, Croatia and Guyana. 

Chávez’s oil painting process typically involves beginning with plein air studies, and drawings. He may also take photographs in the field for reference in his studio later. Direct experience of the land and light on location is essential to his process. 

Chávez’s work is housed in numerous permanent, including New Mexico State University, Eastern New Mexico University, Bernalillo County Courthouse, the Santa Fe Capitol Collection, the Taos National Guard, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the Eiteljorg Museum of Western Art, the University of New Mexico Cancer Center, the Millicent Rogers Museum, the Tucson Desert Art Museum, and the Phoenix Art Museum. His work is also in the corporate collections of Ebner International in Linz, Austria; Fuji Electric Japan; the Burlington Northern Railway; Southwest Capital Bank-Albuquerque; Wells Fargo Bank; and the Rodey Law Firm- Albuquerque, NM