Building San Francisco de Asis

San Francisco de Asis in Ranchos de Taos is perhaps the most painted and photographed church in the American Southwest. Georgia O’Keeffe and Ansel Adams both created iconic images of its massive adobe buttresses. As G. E. Kidder Smith wrote, it “proclaims geometric satisfaction mixed with naive forthrightness.”

The Challenge of the Apse

The famous apse — the back of the church — with its flowing buttresses presented a particular challenge in painted pine. How do you capture the organic quality of hand-plastered adobe in carved wood? The answer lies in the paint. Multiple layers of earth-toned paint, applied and partially sanded back, create the illusion of centuries of mud plaster weathered by sun and rain.

Collaborative Process

This piece was created in collaboration with PJ Cardinale, who added a drawer collage incorporating found objects and imagery that echo the church’s deep spiritual history. The collage elements include religious devotional objects collected over many years.

A Living Structure

What makes San Francisco de Asis remarkable is that it’s still in continuous use since its completion around 1810. The mud plaster is redone every few years by community members. This sculpture captures a moment in that ongoing life — a building that is never quite finished, always being renewed.