February 2026: The Year of the Horse
Happy Lunar New Year!
According to the Internet this Lunar New Year marks the Year of the Fire Horse—a time said to bring transformation, growth, and abundance. The past few months have certainly lived up to that spirit. I can’t recall a busier January or February, with so many creative projects nearing completion.
In spirit of this new lunar year, I recently finished the final painting in the I Ching series of 64 hexagrams: Hexagram 64: Approaching Completion. With that, I’ve begun preparing to publish a companion book, 64 Hexagrams and Haiku, along with a deck of 64 hexagram cards. Both will debut on April 18, when I’ll join Jules Nyquist at the Poetry Playhouse to host an I Ching poetry-writing session inspired by the book and deck.
A few other projects are also reaching their final stages, including a small mural celebrating the Harwood Art Center’s history as a girls’ school to be exhibited as part of their March 5-April 11 Encompass Art Event. Meanwhile down Mountain Road, the Sea of Life mural is prepped and ready to be painted at The Next Best Thing to Being There‘s extraordinary gift shop. The Postcard to America series also continues on with the latest work-on-paper Washington DC: White-Washed City.
Please scroll for the images and details of upcoming events.
The Next Best Thing To Being There
Lunar New Year Art Reception
Join local artists in honoring the Year of the Horse!
February 21, 3–5 pm at 1315 Mountain Road, Albuquerque
Included in the exhibit: The Twinning of the Stars, 26×40-inches, work-on-paper, © Denise Weaver Ross
The Harwood Art Center
ENCOMPASS: A Multi-Generational Art Event
March 6-April 11, 2026
An annual celebration that is both a reflection of and an offering to the community, Encompass features Open Studios. art-making activities. installations by student artists. and five invitational exhibitions and site specific installations.
Rituals of Practice & Memory
Yarelis Alvatez, Jen Doolittle, Kelsey Kilcrease. Jess Merrin, Enchanted Matter and Denise Zubizarreta
Illuminated Whispers
Sara Asadi
Site Specific Installations
Lynette Haozous, Sofie Hecht, Zahra Marwan, Jess Merrin, and Denise Weaver Ross
Closing Reception & Open Studios, April 11, 4:30-7:30pm
Harwood Girls School—26×40 work-on-paper, design for the 40×60-inch outdoor mural to be displayed during the event.
The Poetry Playhouse
Poetry and the I Ching: with Denise Weaver Ross and Jules Nyquist
Saturday, April 18, 10am–4pm
Join us as we celebrate the completion of the years-long I Ching Hexagram series with the release of 64 Hexagrams & Haiku, a book featuring all 64 paintings accompanied by an illustrated card deck. Each artwork draws from the ancient Chinese I Ching, a 2,000-year-old divination system where each hexagram—six stacked lines, yin or yang—reveals a key facet of life’s unfolding patterns.
Hexagram 64: Approaching Completion
acrylic on panel, 30×30 inches
© Denise Weaver Ross
Postcards to America Series
Washington DC: White-Washed City, acrylic on paper, 26×40 inches
The artwork depicts iconic Washington, D.C. landmarks—including the U.S. Capitol and the White House—overlaid with postcard-style lettering that spells out “Washington D.C.” Within the letters, illustrated figures from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington appear engaged in conversation about the events unfolding around them: the presence of the National Guard, the erasure of Black Lives Matter Plaza, and the demolition of the White House’s East Wing. Beneath the main title, the phrase “white-washed city” appears in altered typography—its stenciled, ransom-note-like letters evoking disruption and dissent. This phrase pointedly critiques the current “whitewashing” of American history and politics, calling attention to the ways the contributions of Black Americans and other marginalized communities are minimized or erased within the nation’s centers of power. Part documentation and part protest, the work invites viewers to reflect on how the seat of government is currently seeking to turn-back the progress of civil rights and the understanding of the role of race in the development of our country.
