The Roswell Museum is pleased to announce the exhibition Mary Peck: Land Marks. The exhibition will be on view from July 27 through Jan. 19 in the Roswell Museum’s Graphics and Paul Horgan Galleries.
From southeastern New Mexico in the late 1970s and mid-1980s to Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico and the ranchlands
of Texas in the 1990s to lands along the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline Alberta-Nebraska in 2017-2019, and back again to New
Mexico during the Covid-19 pandemic, Peck’s exhibited works represent a limited survey of her 45 years behind the camera.
Mary Peck moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1974. Rather than pursuing formal graduate study, she instead sought hands-on
learning by apprenticing with experienced, well-respected landscape photographers. Eric Paddock, Curator of Photography at the
Denver Art Museum, explained in an undated statement, “Peck refined her eye and perfected her technique while assisting the
photographers Paul Caponigro [1974-1976] and Laura Gilpin [1977-1979] in Santa Fe… Peck has practiced quietly since that time,
immersing herself in long-term projects that grow from her love of nature… and her calm faith in photography’s capacity to bear
witness.”
Throughout Mary Peck’s photographic career, the beautiful vistas she captures share a sense of absence. Humans are occasionally
included in Peck’s compositions, but their actual presence is strikingly minimal. Through her extensive photographic documentation
of landscapes, she inspires us all with her dedicated exploration, documentation and celebration of the natural world around us as
well as her efforts to preserve it for future generations.
Mary Peck’s breathtaking photographs have been exhibited extensively across the United States and internationally. In addition to
the Roswell Museum, Peck’s work is held in a significant number of collections, including, but not limited to, the Amon Carter
Museum of Western Art in Texas, the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art in Florida, the Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois,
the Houston Museum of Fine Arts in Texas, the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College in Chicago, the Museum
of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, Notre Dame University Art Gallery in Indiana, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in
California. The Roswell Museum’s exhibition Mary Peck: Land Marks is a celebration of many of the artist’s projects during the past
45 years. For more information about the photographer, visit marypeckstudio.com.
The Roswell Museum is at 1011 N. Richardson Ave., just north of the Roswell Convention Center. The museum is open daily from 10
a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit roswellmuseum.org or call 575-624-6744.