Step inside Eric Romero’s studio as he prepares for Querencia, his upcoming solo exhibition at Blue Rain Gallery. Surrounded by works in progress, paint tubes, family photographs, and the materials of his practice, Romero brings together deeply personal memories with the visual language of New Mexico.
At the heart of Querencia is the idea of belonging: the places, people, traditions, and memories that shape who we are. Romero describes the title as the place where one feels most at rest, where “you can just let your guard down” and know that you belong. His own querencia is rooted in New Mexico, from his family’s farm and the landscapes of his childhood to the people and cultural traditions that continue to inform his work.
Among the paintings photographed in Romero’s studio are "A Thousand Mothers Behind Her" and "Las Fridas," two works that consider inheritance through the women closest to the artist. "A Thousand Mothers Behind Her" brings together Romero’s mother and daughter in an homage to the generations of women who have shaped his life and, more broadly, the matriarchal strength he sees within New Mexican Hispanic culture.
In "Las Fridas," Romero turns to his wife and daughter, drawing upon his daughter’s longtime fascination with Frida Kahlo and incorporating symbolism from Kahlo’s paintings into his own composition. The work considers the influence one person can carry across generations and cultures, while remaining grounded in the intimacy of family.
Together, these paintings offer an early glimpse into a body of work that moves between personal memory and collective inheritance, history and myth, absence and presence. As Romero writes in his exhibition statement, Querencia is ultimately about “the invisible threads that bind us to those who came before us.”
Eric Romero: Querencia opens at Blue Rain Gallery in Santa Fe on Friday, September 25, with an opening reception from 5–7 pm. The exhibition will remain on view through October 8, 2026.
Click here to view all work from the show
