The High Road

Artists have flocked to Taos since the nineteenth century, with everyone from Ansel Adams to Georgia O’Keeffe drawn to its pueblo architecture and wide skies over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Numerous art galleries cluster in the Taos Historic District. The Harwood Museum of Art is home to an octagonal gallery devoted to abstract painter Agnes Martin. Designed to her wishes, it has four yellow benches by Donald Judd positioned for visitors beneath an oculus.

A decade before the dedication of the Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, this Vietnam veteran’s memorial was unveiled in New Mexico. Built by Victor Westphall in honor of his son, David, and all the others who died in the war, its white modernist form soars above the landscape. The Vietnam Veterans Peace and Brotherhood Chapel is always open for those who need a place of peace, and it is the only New Mexico state park that does not charge an entry fee.

Jim Bishop began his stone-and-iron castle in 1969, and it continues to grow, with towers rising and arching windows framing the views to the mountains. Built without blueprints or a master plan, the gargantuan fortress of rock now encompasses a ballroom, bridges, and a fire-breathing dragon, and there’s no end in sight. A self-described “monument to perseverance,” Bishop Castle is free of charge and always open.

A stroll of the Córazon de Trinidad Creative District offers such rewards as galleries and studios along its charming brick streets. The Corazon Gallery highlights local creators and the A. R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art its namesake, who was a prolific Western pulp-book and magazine cover artist. In September, you may be sharing the road with vehicles shaped like fish or covered with huge googly eyes as the funky ArtoCade art car festival takes over the town.

The artist-run Museum of Friends has celebrated cutting-edge contemporary art for over a decade in the small town of Walsenburg. Opened by artists Brendt and Maria Cocchiarelli Berger, it holds a collection of more than 600 paintings, sculptures, photographs, and prints, almost all donated as a gesture of friendship. These generous friends include Dennis Oppenheim, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Robert Rauschenberg, Yoko Ono, Mark di Suvero, and Roy Lichtenstein.

The decline of the steel industry led to an economic slump in Pueblo, yet its Creative Corridor is an emerging destination for the arts. This stretch of city center features eclectic bookstores, galleries, public art, and the downtown Sangre de Cristo Arts Center. This multidisciplinary complex is the home of the Sangre de Cristo Ballet, historic and contemporary art exhibitions, and a children’s museum.

On State Highway 115, leading into Colorado Springs, is Herkimer—a colossal 1950s sculpture of a West Indian Hercules beetle. Once you’re in the city, check out the University of Colorado Colorado Springs’ brand-new Ent Center for the Arts (shown above), where kinetic sculptures by Starr Kempf spin outside, and venues for dance, theater, music, and visual art are within. Further north, on Interstate 25, is the United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel. Completed in 1962, it’s worth a stop for its stunning modernist row of seventeen spires

This mountain-valley outpost on Highway 24 has the charms of a small town (a year-round population of 676) with big city amenities found in nearby Colorado Springs. The town’s Green Box Arts Festival, now in its tenth year, is a ten-day celebration of innovators in installation art and dance performance from across the globe. Kicking off on June 29, this year features 21 Balançoires, an interactive musical swing set created by design firm Daily tous les jours. The swings produce instrumental notes, inviting play and collaboration.

Denver has no lack of excellent art institutions, whether the Denver Art Museum, with thousands of works from around the world, or the Clyfford Still Museum, celebrating the legacy of the abstract-expressionist painter. Don’t miss the off-the-beaten-path cultural venues, such as the Denver Zine Library, a volunteer-run collection of more than 20,000 independent and alternative publications located in the bustling River North Art District. If you’re taking to the skies from here, the Denver International Airport has a diverse, permanent collection of art for the jet set.