Arthur Lopez: A Contemporary Latino Artist Innovates Old Santero Traditions.
Arthur Lopez, “La Anima Sola” [“Girl on Fire”]. Courtesy of King Galleries, Santa Fe. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Arthur Lopez’s electrifying exhibit at King Gallery during the Spanish Market weekend in Santa Fe drew an enthusiastic crowd over a two-day celebration July 25-26, 2025. Arthur Lopez is considered a contemporary wood santero sculptor, and his work in the King Gallery exhibit blended circus-related iconography with traditional santero religious figures. The results were dazzling in creativity and figurative precision. Lopez, known for expanding traditional santero boundaries, has gained national and international recognition over the past decade. However, Arthur Lopez’s work is rooted in centuries-old New Mexico art traditions.The New Mexico santero wood carvings are one of the oldest continuously practiced folk art traditions in the U.S., enduring for over four centuries. Franciscan priests from Zacatecas, Mexico introduced the first religious wooden santos to New Mexico in 1598. The Spanish priests from Zacatecas packed santos in their leather bags as they accompanied Juan de Oñate’s 1598 expedition to New Mexico. The friars joined the expedition with the intent of converting the Indigenous tribes of the territory to Catholicism and establishing missions among the Pueblo groups and other Indigenous peoples. In their religious services, the priests utilized small crucifixes and wooden statues representing Jesus and Mary, as well as saints and images that Catholics worship. The Franciscans’ presence symbolized Spain’s dual goals: colonial settlement and the spread of Christianity.
Arthur Lopez, “The Human Pincushion: San Sebastian.” Courtesy of King Galleries, Santa Fe. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
New Mexico’s traditional woodcarving artistry has endured over the centuries, although the artists’ distinctive practices have evolved as they carved religious images (santos and bultos) for churches and homes. These artisans, called santeros, have passed down traditional methods and spiritual intent across generations, making religious devotion, storytelling, and community central to their creative process.
The history of this traditional art form is important. The Spanish population of New Mexico grew modestly over the 17th and 18th centuries following colonization. To ensure population growth, the Spanish Crown allocated land grants to settlers from New Spain [Mexico]. As New Mexico’s population spread northward, the number of priests dwindled—particularly from the 18th century onward, and santeros and their creations became essential spiritual bridges for isolated communities. Santos filled churches, chapels, and homes, and were featured in processions during holy days.
In the mid-1930s, a santero artist, Patrociño Barela [1900–1964], who was employed by the federally funded Works Progress Administration program [WPA], rose from regional obscurity to become the first Mexican-American santero to gain national recognition in the mainstream American art world. Supported by the WPA, his output surged as he crafted highly stylized figures from single pieces of wood, allowing the natural wood forms to guide his work.
Arthur Lopez, “The Tattooed Lady: St. Catherine of Bologna.” Courtesy of King Galleries, Santa Fe. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Barela was an early twentieth-century New Mexico artist from humble origins in Taos, and his career through the WPA Project exemplifies the resilience and adaptability of Hispano culture. It is interesting that although Barela is an important and nationally recognized santero, his name is listed only once in the University of New Mexico’s Hispanic Arts & Ethnohistory.
Barela achieved national acclaim when eight of his wood carvings were included in the Museum of Modern Art’s 1936 exhibition “New Horizons in American Art” in New York City. His deeply spiritual, abstract, and modernist works drew critical attention during the Great Depression, marking a groundbreaking moment for a New Mexican santero on the national fine art stage. He was featured in Life and Time magazines as well as in The New York Times.
The Smithsonian Museum’s scholarly publication Arte Latino: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum credits Barela “with transforming traditional carving into a modern personal idiom.” His modernist approach—shaped by the wood’s natural lines and imperfections—produced abstract, emotionally charged forms that challenged tradition while remaining deeply tied to spiritual and communal themes.
Arthur Lopez, “Saint Joseph: Levitating Man.” Courtesy of King Galleries, Santa Fe. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Barela’s true breakthrough came in the fall of 1936 when MoMA selected eight of his carved sculptures for the exhibit “New Horizons in American Art.” Barela had more art pieces chosen for this important exhibit than any other artist among the thousands employed by the WPA. National media, including Time magazine, hailed him as the “discovery of the year.” Barela’s work, distinct from both academic fine art and traditional folk carving, captivated critics and audiences nationwide.
Today, there is a dynamic interplay between preserving cultural authenticity and embracing modern innovation in the santero traditions. The santeros‘ work that Harriett and I saw at this year’s Santa Fe Spanish Marketexhibits revealed that both traditional and experimental woodcarving artists are thriving as a testimony to the Santa Fe community’s ongoing creativity and debate over identity. Traditionalists are committed to preserving sacred customs, while “Contemporary” santeros, such as Arthur Lopez, have adapted old traditions to new audiences with creative aesthetic ideas. Today, the Hispano art experience in New Mexico is invigorating the continual deliberations about honoring ancestral ways while responding to evolving cultural and artistic landscapes.
Arthur Lopez, “Our Lady of the Sideshow: The Virgin of Guadalupe.” Courtesy of King Galleries, Santa Fe. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Arthur Lopez follows in the santero tradition of artists such as Barela. He is largely self-taught. He grew up in Santa Fe and, as a teen, generally focused on drawing and sketching. In the early 1990s, Lopez studied graphic design at Eastern New Mexico College, and after graduation, found work as a designer. He was about to take a design post with Macy’s in New York City when his father fell ill, and he returned to Santa Fe to help care for him. In Santa Fe, he met his future wife, Bernadette Marquez, and Bernadette encouraged him to pursue his passion for art and remain in New Mexico.
In the late 1990s, Lopez immersed himself in the santero tradition after he began carving bass wood and discovered he had both a passion and talent for this art form. Using a hunting knife, he carved his first bulto, which won first prize in an art show. He also returned to drawing and began painting cars, lowriders, cartoons, and portraits of friends.
Artists like Arthur López have introduced current political, social, and cultural themes into their santero works, depicting scenes such as Christ being arrested at the border or saints riding motorcycles, extending traditional art forms to address modern realities and the Hispanic/Chicano experience. Through his innovative, narrative-driven work, he bridges historical Hispano religious art with present-day cultural identity and issues, thus ensuring the tradition’s vitality and relevance.
Arthur Lopez, “The Bearded Lady: Santa Librada.” Courtesy of King Galleries, Santa Fe. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Although Lopez had won recognition for his earlier traditional santos, which have been acquired by the prestigious Albuquerque Museum of Art and the International Museum of Folk Art, he thought deeply about adding a modern style to his santo carvings. In one of his contemporary pieces, which he titled “Holy Rollers,” Jesus is depicted driving a hippie-style VW bus carrying all twelve apostles, which reinterprets the sacred narrative in a visually modern and playful way. The “Holy Rollers” piece exemplifies López’s approach of blending traditional santero woodcarving techniques with contemporary themes and humor. Lopez is known for researching his subjects deeply and producing work that honors historic materials and traditional techniques, such as making pigments from natural sources and mixing traditional gesso.
Arthur Lopez in his Santa Fe home studio. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
López’s “Sideshow Saints” exhibit at King Gallery is an amazingly creative contemporary reimagining of the sacred account of Christian saints. The bold and colorful figures of the eight saints he chose for the exhibit are placed as part of a circus sideshow. St. Catherine of Bologna, for example, is portrayed as a carnival sideshow “Tattooed Lady” standing in a small tent with a religious crown on the top of the tent. Lopez is a meticulous craftsman and is highly proficient in understanding and appreciating the New Mexican santero tradition—particularly bulto making (hand‑carved and painted wooden sculptures). The “Sideshow Saints” represent an innovative reinterpretation of the lives of Catholic saints. His presentation is theatrical and invites viewers to reassess familiar religious narratives.
Arthur Lopez. Courtesy of King Galleries, Santa Fe. Photo by Ricardo Romo.
Lopez’a accomplishments include numerous awards, such as the City of Santa Fe’s Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts (2015), the Folk Art Society of America Award of Distinction (2017), the prestigious United States Artists Fellowship in Traditional Arts (2019), and the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts (2022). His work has been exhibited extensively in the American Southwest and internationally in Japan, Germany, and other countries.
Contemporary Hispano woodcarvers such as Barela and Arthur Lopez express tradition, enduring faith, familial ties, and personal vision through their art—ensuring that their cultural voices remain grounded and relevant in modern America.
