(Las Cruces Sun-News (NM) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 6--MESILLA -- The Preston Contemporary Art Center evokes Ernest Hemingway's famous phrase, "a clean, well-lighted place," embodied in a Southwestern setting, with innovative green, artistic twists.

The new, 12,300-square-foot art center includes outdoor sculpture gardens, spacious interior galleries, offices, a conference room, a workshop classroom, storage areas designed to welcome large-scale works and even an-in gallery apartment that may be used by exhibiting artists and by owner Tinsley Preston, a Chicago-based publisher of specialty publications.

"He hopes to visit and stay here at least once a month," said Paul Schranz, a retired art professor, photographer and writer who is director of PCAC and the center's Media Digital Imaging Workshops.

Schranz and his wife, Bonnie, moved here five years ago.

"I love the culture, the weather, the environment and the city. There was nothing about this town I didn't like," Schranz said.

Preston and Schranz hope to make the center a cultural "destination site" that will attract collectors, arts aficionados and photography students from throughout the nation and the world with lures that will include an internationally known roster of leading contemporary artists and top

workshop leaders. Their marketing plans include print and broadcast advertising on everything from golf and travel channels to CNN"s "Larry King Live."

The center's "Inaugural Exhibition," Schranz said, "will introduce the breadth and scope that the gallery will represent," with paintings, sculptural collage, fiber art, ceramic sculpture, photography, wood sculpture and digital collage by 11 American and international artists.

Future exhibitions are scheduled quarterly in October, January, April and July.

"Plans for the new gallery complex include publication of Xhibit, a quarterly catalog spotlighting artists in each exhibition, and we'll have information at the opening about a contemporary art collectors group starting in August. One of our goals is to take very special care of collectors," Schranz said.

He's also looking forward to launching digital media workshops in August with a stellar professional faculty.

"We'll use the gallery's 20-station digital imaging lab and classroom, offering two- to four-day workshops in all forms of digital imaging, as well as commercial and aesthetic shooting and composition workshops for photographers," Schranz said.

Perks will include workshop field instruction at regional scenic locations in White Sands, Mesilla, Lincoln National Forest, Gila National Forest and Cliff Dwellings, the Organ Mountains, mission ruins, petroglyph sites, and Chihuahuan desert landscapes and ghost towns. The center will also work with companies to provide corporate training sites.

PCAC's commitment to the community started with a green building philosophy, Schranz said. The center, designed by local architect Gerald Lundeen and constructed by Garland-Lowman of Las Cruces, features a combination of skylights and LED lighting and energy-efficient insulation.

"All gray water produced by the building is used to tend to landscape water needs, and we plan to install solar panels to supply power," he said, to maintain "museum standards of a constant 50-percent humidity and 70-degree temperature to protect the artworks."

Another goal is to partner with the city, regional museums and New Mexico State University in programs ranging from lectures and special exhibitions to intern programs.

"We at the arts council certainly wish them luck. We're all very excited to have a contemporary art gallery in such a beautiful location," said Heather Pollard, acting executive director of the Dona Ana Arts Council.

Artists featured in the first PCAC exhibition include wood sculptor Roger Atkins of Santa Fe; fiber artist Maria-Theresa Fernandes, London, England; ceramic sculptor Terry Gieber, Spokane, Wash.; photographer Kazumitsu Okutomi, Medinah, Ariz.; digital collage artist Sandra Mendez, Dyer, Ind.; sculptural collage artist Sam Peters, Las Cruces; and painters Antonio Castro L., Juarez, Mexico; Gisela Col-n, Los Angeles; Karen Fitzgerald, Woodside, N.Y.; Susan Puelz, Lincoln, Neb.; and Jack Roberts, Sedona, Ariz.

Schranz invites the public "to feel free to overdress elegantly," for PCAC's opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, offering the public a chance to tour the new center and meet several of the exhibiting artists at the center at 1755 Avenida de Mercado, just off Avenida de Mesilla. Regular hours will be 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 1 to 7 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday and by appointment. For information, visit the PCAC Web site at www.prestoncontemporaryart.com or phone (575) 523-8713.

S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com

Preston Contemporary Art Center and Mesilla Digital Imaging Workshops

Where: 1755 Avenida de Mercado

When: Opening 6 to 8 p.m. Friday

Who: Tinsley Preston, owner, Paul Schranz, director of galleries and workshops

Staff: Denyse Johnson, exhibitions coordinator, Bonnie Schranz, administrative coordinator, Brian Fallstead, building operations manager, and NMSU interns Sarah Marshall, Norma Vechot, Colin Blakley and Jean Reese Wilkey

Building: Designed by Lundeen & Associates, built by Garland-Lowman

Gallery hours: 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 1 to 7 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday and by appointment

Workshops: Begin in August, schedule at www.prestoncontemporaryart.com

Info: (575) 523-8713, e-mail info@prestoncontemporaryart.com or www.prestoncontemporaryart.com

EVENTS AND EXTRAS

6 to 8 p.m., Friday: Opening of Inaugural Exhibition

1 p.m. Saturday: Talk by documentary photographer Martin Lueders about his "Playing for Keeps" and "The Grass That Suffers" projects, involving children's issues in the developing world, Branigan Cultural Center, sponsored in part by PCAC

10:30 a.m. July 19: PCAC Artist Dialogues series of conversations with artists begins with sculptural collage artist Sam Peters. Additional events in the series to be announced.

"Xhibit" quarterly magazine-format catalog will feature commentaries, images and information about artists and current and upcoming exhibits.

To see more of the Las Cruces Sun-News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.lcsun-news.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, Las Cruces Sun-News, N.M.
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