Ricochet Gallery owner Michael Lakoff is extending his hospitality to art lovers and the female artists they collect this month. He is also the moving force behind a collective of art galleries on Mountain Rd. NW near 12th St. at the edge of Old Town, mobilizing them to exhibit and promote as a group for Women’s History Month.

Besides Ricochet, Vicki Bolen’s little bird de papel, folk-art gallery The Next Best Thing to Being There and Julianna Kirwin’s Printmaking Studio and Gallery are leaning in together to make ARTScrawl and other events happen. Friends of Mountain Road are gathered under their banner as well to attract even more visitors to the area. Cocina Azul, New Mexico Tea Company and Golden Crown Panaderia are listed among the Friends.

The bright, open space at Ricochet has been given over to 12 women artists. Sculpture, paintings, jewelry and more await collectors and shoppers alike this month. Lakoff also schedules regular shows, like the Big Gay Show he held in December that netted 350 people on opening night. Coming up in June is ALBUQUEERQUE, A Celebration of Pride, another popular event at Ricochet.

“When people know there is more than one site nearby to visit, and places to eat, they make an evening of it,” he said.

According to Statista, an arts and culture trends tracking site, more than 50 percent of art buyers prefer to buy at a physical location rather than online. Only about nine percent of art dealer sales came from Online Viewing Rooms (OVRs) in 2020.

Art buying certainly is fun when you go to a curated show. Lakoff has festooned his industrial-style space with airy sculptures and textile art to show off his female artists, about whom he is knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Refreshments are served at gallery openings but Ricochet is fun to visit on any given day. The name for the gallery, Lakoff says, comes from a song on the David Bowie album, Let’s Dance. “Always thought of it as a name for a gallery and it works well!” he said.

Art on Mountain Road

Julianna Kirwin, Printmaking Studio/Gallery, 8th and Mountain Rd., juliannakirwin.com

little bird de papel, 1222 Mountain Rd. NW, 505.710.7524, vickibolen.com

Ricochet Gallery, 1102 Mountain Rd. NW, 704.345.5029, ricochetgallery.com

The Next Best Thing to Being There, 1315 Mountain Rd. NW, beingthereabq.com