We believe that a State of Art is a State of Mind, a heightening of the senses, an environment, a process, and a way of living, ultimately cultivating the artist and explorer within. In that spirit, Galloping Galleries seeks to establish cooperative partnerships as well as manage collaborative efforts that serve all creative individuals—artists, collectors, students, travelers, and lovers of art and adventure.

Purpose of Galloping Galleries Audio CD Road Trips

The prerequisite to a State of Art is a sense of place—connecting ourselves to the spirit of everything around us, the geology, myth, history, culture, and the continually evolving environment. What bonds these three individualists is a love of exploring one's surroundings, discovering the magic that awaits around the bend.

Michael Hice, a native New Mexican, has spent the last 20 years promoting the multi-cultural aspects of New Mexico via award-winning, nationally recognized businesses such as Indian Artist magazine, Founder/Publisher/Editor-in-Chief; SWAIA/Indian Market Magazine (the organization that produces the world-renowned Santa Fe Indian market); NightingaleHice, a design & marketing firm, Partner/Co-Founder; Mountain Time Tours, Partner/Co-Founder. All his efforts have been involved in developing and promoting the cultures, arts, and tourism in the State of New Mexico.

Hillary Riggs, artist and entrepreneur, grew up in Mexico City, the daughter of American artists who owned a business employing craftspeople in hand-dyeing and weaving textiles and rugs. After spending most of her first 30 years in Mexico, Riggs, her then-husband, Graham Nugent, and baby Alex moved to New Mexico in 1981 and started Sombraje. The highly successful and influential business established her position in the world of Southwest furniture design, and also began a model of creative collaboration which she continued in Quimera, producing art furniture.

Alex Nugent-Riggs grew up along the banks of the Embudo River in Dixon, New Mexico, where he taught himself to fly fish and tie his own flies. He used the large alfalfa fields to fly remote control gliders. He attended Los Alamos High School, eventually majoring in physics. He developed a fascination with artificial neural networks. Alex and his mother (Hillary Riggs) created KnowmtechLLC , an intellectual property holding company for Alex's ideas related to the formation of artificial adaptable synapses via self-organizing nanotechnology.