Henrietta Gomez (Taos Pueblo), is a gifted traditional micaceous clay potter and moccasin maker, whose passion for traditional foods extends beyond her horno and into her community. She has led baking workshops in Taos for decades.Unearthing Futures / Desenterrando Futuros explores contemporary earthen artworks, establishing a profound dialogue between regional roots and global perspectives. As visitors engage with the exhibition, they embark on a journey through time, examining the intricate relationship between humanity and the elemental material of unfired earth.
At its core, this exhibition highlights the transformative power of mud—a substance that bridges tradition and innovation, ecology and artistry. Through the work of rafa esparza, Christine Howard Sandoval, Ronald Rael, Santino Gonzales, Joanna Keane Lopez, and Gabriel Chaile, Unearthing Futures navigates the intersections of technological progress, societal change, and environmental stewardship. Each artwork invites reflection on a rapidly evolving world, encouraging viewers to consider the past, engage with the present, and imagine futures shaped by deeper connections to the land.
Situated within the striking landscapes of Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado, Unearthing Futures extends beyond the Harwood Museum’s galleries, incorporating historic and contemporary earthen building sites throughout the region. These sites and their histories become integral to the exhibition, emphasizing the enduring interplay between art, architecture, and environment.
The legacy of adobe and earthen clay in the Southwest is deeply rooted in Indigenous traditions and enriched by successive cultural influences. From Pueblo communities to Spanish settlers, adobe architecture embodies resilience, adaptation, and collaboration. Unearthing Futures reflects on this legacy, challenging audiences to reconsider their relationship to the land and its materials while engaging with contemporary reinterpretations of these practices.
As visitors experience Unearthing Futures, they encounter a central question: How might the transformative power of mud inspire innovative strategies for navigating an uncertain future? By foregrounding the material and metaphorical significance of adobe, this exhibition reimagines our connection to the environment, offering a vision of sustainability and interconnectedness that is both grounded and aspirational.
Unearthing Futures / Desenterrando Futuros affirms the enduring capacity of art to uncover overlooked narratives, challenge entrenched perspectives, and envision new possibilities. Through the works on display, visitors embark on a journey that transcends boundaries of time and place, discovering in the earth itself a profound site of continuity and transformation.
***
Unearthing Futures / Desenterrando Futuros is the result of a deeply collaborative curatorial process grounded in relationship, place, and shared responsibility. The exhibition and publication were curated by Nicole Dial-Kay and Adam Geluda Gildar, with significant curatorial support from Kate Miller, Assistant Curator. The project was developed in close dialogue with an advisory committee that includes Ronald Rael, Eric Carpio, and Joanna Keane Lopez. Two galleries within the exhibition are curated by Deborah Lujan and Guadalupe Tafoya, guest curators whose work is rooted in lived cultural knowledge and community stewardship. Beyond these named roles, the project is shaped by the generosity of individuals and families connected to historic adobe sites across northern New Mexico and southern Colorado—people who shared their labor, histories, and traditions, and whose lives and practices are inseparable from the material at the center of this book. As with adobe itself, authorship here is collective, layered, and sustained through care.
rafa esparza, one day the machines stopped…, 2026, adobe bricks, painted adobe panels, steel, concrete, rocks, 18ft w x 30ft l x 12ft h. Courtesy of the artist and Commonwealth and Council. Photo by Brad Trone.
 Gabriel Chaile, Ella vendrá a pagarle todo, 2023, adobe, metal, and wax crayons, 451 x 302 x 302 cm [177.55 x 118.89 x 118.89 in]. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Brad Trone.
Joanna Keane Lopez, Energetic Materials, 2026, Two-channel video, adobe, soil from the arroyo in the Northern Call-Up Area of White Sands Missile Range, UV-cured acrylic pigment print, maple frames. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Brad Trone.
Santino Gonzales (installation view). Unearthing Futures / Desenterrando Futuros, June 27, 2026-February 28, 2027, Harwood Museum of Art. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Brad Trone.
Christine Howard Sandoval (installation view). Unearthing Futures / Desenterrando Futuros, June 27, 2026–February 28, 2027, Harwood Museum of Art. Courtesy of the artist and parrasch heijnen. Photo by Brad Trone.
Banner Image: Ronald Rael,” LIMINAL,” 2026, 3D printed adobe. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Brad Trone.
