Bayfield resident Stew Mosberg has penned his first novel, In the Shadows of Canyon Road. This tale is set in the rarified air of the Santa Fe art world, specifically in the storied art district known as Canyon Road.
This winding road boasts more than 100 art studios and galleries and originally was a residential neighborhood. Some of the adobe structures date back to the 1700s, providing a rich background for Mosberg’s story of intertwined characters and their destinies.
The colorful cast of characters includes a destitute but gifted painter and his warm, supportive Hispanic family, a haughty, privileged owner of a high-end gallery, a hard-working restaurant owner and a single father who owns a small but impressive gallery. The story illustrates the truth of how lives intersect and how there are barely six degrees of separation (à la Kevin Bacon) in a small community like the art world.
Mosberg employs the all-too-human themes of romance, generosity, greed and the need to succeed to reel readers into this universe of art and its purveyors. The novel cleverly displays conflicts and caring between artists and gallery owners, patrons and the purchasing public. Luckily, there seems to be more people who want to help the artists than wish them ill, according to Mosberg’s world, at least.
Martin Gomez is the eminently likable, struggling artist who works as a waiter for Moira, the restaurant owner, at her Kiva Cafe. He is a former art student who had to leave his studies to take care of his three younger siblings after the death of his mother. Martin lives with his aunt, who takes care of his 6-year-old daughter Deirdre and works for gallery owner Keith Wheeler, a widower. Keith is dating Moira, Martin’s boss, Martin, who stutters, is very shy and private. No one outside of his family knows that he paints pictures at night after working long hours in the restaurant. Now the stage is set for one career to be championed and another to flounder.
Other important players are Marta Rodriguez-Encantada, a patron of the arts whose forbearers date back to the conquistadors, and Father Dominick, the local parish priest, who has known Martin since he was a boy. It is good to note that the many Hispanic characters in the story are correctly and warmly portrayed.
Mosberg aptly displays his background and expertise in the arts with his descriptions of paintings, photographs and other works of art during the course of the story. His narrative flows with his obvious love of art and the creative people who make it.
Mosberg taught at the prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York City. He also has authored two design books and has written about the arts in many regional magazines such as Arts Perspective, Art Times and The Cultural Times.
In the Shadows of Canyon Road is a fascinating glimpse into Santa Fe’s world of art wheeling and dealing. The drama of conflicting personalities with personal agendas makes for entertaining reading.
This is a light-hearted story with enough intrigue to satisfy readers’ needs for excitement. A small complaint would be that several characters and their story lines end abruptly without satisfying the reader’s curiosity as to what happened to them. Perhaps a sequel is in the future.
