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Page Coleman sees her gallery as a stepping stone, a place where contemporary artists can get a start then move on to bigger things.

Coleman sells herself short.

Her place, Coleman Gallery Contemporary Art, is one of the city's bedrock galleries, showing consistently high-quality and cutting-edge abstract paintings, sculpture and multimedia.

Coleman has been devoted to modern art since establishing the gallery in 1993 as a painter and hair stylist.

"I wandered into the gallery thing," she says.

Doing hair, she noticed the salon's wide-open walls and began showing art. She phased out the styling in favor of the gallery.

Her first place was a few blocks south of Central on Broadway. She later moved to East Downtown then to the Nob Hill Art Complex, which she founded on Central east of Carlisle.

Coleman recently moved a few more blocks east and a block behind Central, on Silver Avenue, gutting and converting an old printing plant into a spectacular gallery/living space, in an urban renewal project worthy of Dwell magazine. It's a treat to see what she did - mostly by herself, mind you - even if you're not an art lover.

"I wanted a change," she says of the move. "It's quieter, easier to visit."

Coleman describes her approach to showing art as "what's happening now."

"I like emerging artists," she says.

Coleman shows both local and out-of-state people. She has a stable of regulars, including Alan Paine Radebaugh, Carol Sanchez, Don Vernay and Annie Nash, whose work fills the back of the gallery.

The front features the current show, and Coleman's first at the new location is a winner.

It's anchored by the wonderful Shawn Turung, an Albuquerque multimedia artist and co-curator at the Inpost Art Space.

The Art Institute of Chicago grad has a sure hand with color and graphics. She once ran a design firm in Houston.

On hardboard, Turung lays down a background of black pigment. She then takes the spirit on a ride across the canvas on bold, looping red lines. A gritty, hands-on artist, she creates depth and movement, using wax to vary the intensity of the red as it fades in and out of the black.

With just two colors, Turung presents complex, fascinating images that spur thoughts of infinity.

Coleman is also showing Harriet Yale Russell, who, in such works as "Nap-A-Ture" and "Kon-A-Kor," gathers richly hued shapes into abstract compositions that tantalizingly evoke cities, oceans, people and nature.

John Neumann's stainless steel sculptures are perfectly composed, changing shape as you circle them. Taking in the majestic "Flight of Daphne" is an amazing experience.

And Michael Orgel's vessels can only be described as exquisite. He builds them of smooth, organic shapes in bronze, alabaster, limestone, steatite (soapstone) and black chlorite.

"Vessel" is ingenious. A polished chlorite box sits on a limestone base. The lid is bronze, and topping it is a simple boat - a vessel - in chlorite.

It's simple, elegant and profound, like all Orgel's work.

Showing such artists over so many years, and giving a venue to emerging talents, Coleman is a jewel of the city's contemporary art scene.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

The developmentally disabled artists in the Day Arts Program at VSA Arts of New Mexico on North 4th Street are a prolific and talented group.

Their twice-a-year exhibitions are something to look forward to, for quality art at affordable prices. The VSA is a must for any novice or seasoned collector.

The spring show is under way and features some stellar work. The focus is on portraiture and culture.

There are self-portraits and portraits of others. The artists address ethnicity and the culture of disability.

"They're doing some really nice work," says Sue Hermes, the exhibit and portfolio manager, who does an excellent job of selecting the works to be shown.

As is often the case at VSA, the standout is Helene Valdez, a superstar in the program. Her "Super Woman" is a subtle but powerful watercolor with flawless impressionist technique.

There are many other terrific artists.

Joe Sandoval's "Johnny Cash" captures the Man in Black, and his guitar, in bright blocks of color.

"Blue and Purple Man" by Ian Donaldson finds a smiling, impish face afloat in a brilliant sea.

In "Working Man," Max Haugen captures the essence of the laborer in a few potent images: the hat, the shirt, the expression.

I loved Bryan Martinez's "A Man With a Hat on His Head" and Leon Baca's "Poodle With a Red Hat." Both perfectly capture the personality of the subject. They're expressive and endearing.

Each piece begs to be studied; each is complex and full of insights.

The VSA artists have much to tell us.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Houston artist William Betts deservedly won Best in Show at the Albuquerque Museum's "Biennial Southwest" in October.

The exhibit had 103 pieces of the best contemporary art from New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.

Betts's winning piece, "Killer," showed a startling scene from a surveillance camera, created with thousands of drops of paint by a computer program Betts created.

The piece, up close, was a moody, muted study in light and shadow. From a distance, the image sent a chill up the spine.

We can now see more works from that series in a show at the Richard Levy Gallery Downtown.

It is a stunning achievement. Each image captures a candid moment in earthy globs of paint.

Each scene is deceptively serene and seemingly ordinary, until you look closer.

Then each is chilling.