A CONTEMPORARY DEATH?(Evening)

Byline: J.M. Barol jbarol@abqtrib.com / 823-3612

The demise of Magnifico's Downtown gallery paints a bleak picture of Albuquerque's already pitiful support of abstract art, local artists say. But on a national level, it's a thriving time for creators and buyers.

Let's start with the good news.

Albuquerque, it turns out, is surging with contemporary artists.

The bad news?

They're leaving, packing up canvases and colors and heading to cities they say are supportive of work more challenging than the traditional New Mexico landscape.

"We have so many artists here, especially from grad school, who are doing great things on a national level," says local artist and former art gallery owner Carly Larson. "But they don't have a place to show here."

There are galleries such as AC2 and Trevor Lucero Studio, Dartmouth Street Gallery and Coleman Contemporary Art …