Taos Art Museum at Fechin House
Architectural Sculptures in Painted Pine
Taos Art Museum Fechin Studio Exhibition
January 10 - March 1, 2026
The church form speaks to Roberto's love of ecclesiastical architecture and springs from his Benedictine monastic background and world travels. The churches, built of pine and richly painted, are about 12" wide and 16" high and vary in length. While he specializes in the churches, missions and synagogues of New Mexico, beginning in 1985, he has done nearly 1000 pieces inspired by buildings of faith from around the world. He continues working today, and his most recent exhibition is at the Taos Museum of Art Fechin Studio, January 10 - March 1, 2026.
Born in 1939 in Pueblo, CO, Bob has a BA in Mathematics and Philosophy earned while a Benedictine monk, an MA in Art from the University of Northern Colorado, and a Doctorate in Art Education from Arizona State University. He has been a professor at the University of Northern Colorado (1968-69), The Ohio State University (1970-1974), University of Arizona (1974-1981), and Boston University (where he was Director and professor of the Program in Artisanry, 1981-1985). He has been president of the San Antonio Art Institute (1985-1990) and President of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation (1990-1992). In 2009, he was named Master of the Southwest by Phoenix Home & Garden Magazine. He and PJ, his wife (married 1966), a collage artist, have lived in Santa Fe, NM since 1990.
Select Permanent Collections
The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, Albuquerque, NM
The Harwood Museum of Art, University of New Mexico, Taos, NM
The Sangre de Cristo Center for the Arts, Pueblo, CO
The Billy Graham Museum of Art, Wheaton, IL
The Benedictine University Museum of Art, Lisle, IL
15 works
Santa Fe, NM, 1692 & 1914
Rosario Chapel, at the back of Rosario Cemetery in Santa Fe, stands on the traditional site of Don Diego de Vargas's 1692 camp, where he is said to have vowed to honor the Virgin Mary (La Conquistadora) if he could retake the city after the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. The original sanctuary was later replaced by the present adobe chapel, begun in 1807 and enlarged in 1914.
$1,800
San Antonio, TX, 1782
This tower, separated from the church, focuses on the painted designs extrapolated by Ernst Schuchard in 1927 from faint colorings found on parts of the church. My interpretation strives to give a sense of what the church and its one surviving tower might have felt like in one of its painted evolutions since its completion around 1782.
$2,400
Abiquiu, NM, c. 1820
A Morada is neither a church nor a chapel, but rather a private meeting place for religious devotions and for the Hermanos (Penitente Brotherhood) to attend to the needs of the community.
$2,800
Truchas, NM, c. 1784
The church was founded in 1764, and the original church was built in 1784 and the current structure was built in 1805.
$1,800
A Memorial to Bill Franke, founder and director of Hand Artes Gallery, Truchas, NM
Taos Pueblo, Taos, NM, c. 1850
Located in Taos Pueblo just north of Taos, New Mexico, this massive adobe church, built around 1850 and later modified with twin bell towers, has walls nearly three feet thick. Still in use today, it remains central to Taos Pueblo ceremonies and feast days. This sculpture tries to capture its age, history, and spirit.
Sold · Commissions welcome
Collection of Mark and Debbie Ortel
Las Vegas, NM, 1884
The first synagogue in New Mexico, despite extensive remodeling over the years, still stands today. Originally, the structure was relocated from its initial site and placed on the campus of Highlands University, where it served as a Catholic Newman Center for a period of time. Later, the building was reacquired by the Jewish community. It now continues to function as an active synagogue, maintaining its important role as a center for Jewish worship and community life.
$2,800
Cañon City, CO, c. 1924
This sculpture is of Roberto's former monastery where he lived and studied theology as a Benedictine monk. After five years, he left the religious life to study art, earning a master's degree in fine art at the University of Northern Colorado. While there, he met his future wife PJ and they returned to the Abbey for their wedding in 1966.
Not for Sale · Commissions welcome
Taos, NM, c. 1927
The remodel that Nicolai Fechin completed of the Fechin House around 1933 contains three fireplaces. They are beautifully sculpted and with their imposing mass, take on an aura of a sacred altar.
$1,800
Taos, NM, c. 1927
The remodel that Nicolai Fechin completed of the Fechin House around 1933 contains three fireplaces. They are beautifully sculpted and with their imposing mass, take on an aura of a sacred altar.
$1,800
Taos, NM, c. 1927
The remodel that Nicolai Fechin completed of the Fechin House around 1933 contains three fireplaces. They are beautifully sculpted and with their imposing mass, take on an aura of a sacred altar.
$1,800
Ranchos de Taos, NM, c. 1810
Located about three miles outside of Taos, New Mexico, this massive adobe structure was completed around 1810. The church has been in continuous use since it was completed. The apse (back of the church) with its massive stone and adobe buttresses is one of the most popular images of the Southwest and has been painted and photographed by such greats as Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams.
It is understandable why the apse of this mission church has been so often photographed and painted: it proclaims geometric satisfaction mixed with naive forthrightness.
— G. E. Kidder Smith
$3,000
Santa Fe, NM, 1940
Cristo Rey Church was designed by John Gaw Meem in the Pueblo Revival style, drawing inspiration from many of New Mexico's historic Spanish missions. Like its antecedents, the church is built from adobe, though it is supported by a hidden steel frame rather than relying completely on traditional building techniques. Architecture critic Chris Wilson described the building as "the last, great adobe mission". The facade is asymmetrical, with two battered towers of different heights separated by a recessed balcony above the main entrance.
$2,800
El Paso, TX, 1682
The Ysleta Mission, located in the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo within the municipality of El Paso, Texas, is recognized as the oldest continuously operated parish in the State of Texas. I have chosen to leave this church sculpture unfinished to allow the viewer to see how the piece evolved in the making process.
$2,400
Tucson, AZ, c. 1783
Mission San Xavier del Bac, founded in the late 17th century and later constructed in its present form by Tohono O'odham artisans is known as the "White Dove of the Desert."
Not for Sale · Commissions welcome
Rio Chiquito near Taos, NM, 1837
The Talpa Chapel near Taos, built in the early 1800s by the Martinez, Tafoya, and Duran families, rises from sunbaked adobe, simple and enduring. Thick walls, rough-hewn beams, and a modest bell tower mark generations of care and faith. In the base, a small drawer holds a collage of Catholic devotional objects—rosaries, medals, and faded prayer cards—kept through centuries. As a sculptor, I work on the textures and shadows, trying to capture both the history and the steadfast devotion etched into every surface.
$2,800
Pencil and ink on grid paper
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Working drawing for sculpture #3
$300
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