The New Mexicans Featuring Photogenesis and Nicholas Trofimuk
Picture of Perseverance
By Bob Quick - The New Mexican
Photogenesis has been selling fine photographs for more than two decades from its small basement space inside La Fonda in Santa Fe. Managed by Joette O’Connor and founded by photographer Nicholas Trofimuk, the gallery became known for presenting carefully selected black-and-white photography while surviving economic downturns and shifts in the art market.
The article describes how the gallery continued operating through difficult financial periods while maintaining a loyal audience of collectors and visitors. O’Connor explains that the gallery’s focus was never on trends, but on photographs with lasting quality and emotional resonance. The space featured photographers such as Howard Bond, Mark Nohl, and Nicholas Trofimuk himself.
Located beneath La Fonda Hotel, the gallery’s intimate atmosphere became part of its identity. Visitors would descend into the basement space and discover walls filled with framed photographs of landscapes, clouds, deserts, and quiet Western scenes.
The story presents Photogenesis as an example of persistence within the independent art world - a small gallery sustained by dedication to photography rather than commercial spectacle.
Capturing the Lonesome Landscapes
By Russ Whiting
“There is a peculiar sort of feeling - vertigo, maybe - that comes from living on the crease between the desert and mountains that collide here in Santa Fe.”
The article follows Nicholas Trofimuk and his deep connection to the New Mexico landscape. Known for photographing expansive skies, storms, mesas, and distant horizons, Trofimuk often worked around Galisteo, where he lived and photographed the changing desert atmosphere.
Originally trained as a painter, Trofimuk eventually turned to photography because it allowed him to create more immediately. The article describes how he would often leave home without a specific destination, responding instinctively to weather, light, and movement across the landscape.
His exhibition The Lonesome Landscape at St. John’s College Art Gallery focused on black-and-white photographs of New Mexico’s open terrain. Trofimuk explained that unnamed and overlooked places often carried the greatest beauty:
“I am really anti-National Park photography. I believe there is so much beauty in the places that are not named.”
The article also highlights his minimalist philosophy toward photography. Trofimuk described himself as “anti-equipment,” preferring simplicity and intuition over excessive technical gear. Many of his photographs carried understated titles such as Rain Squalls, Evening Storm, Ortiz Mountains, and Nirvana Road.
The writer portrays Trofimuk’s landscapes as meditative and timeless, images where clouds, weather, and empty land become emotional subjects rather than documentation of place.
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