Albuquerque artist Paul Ré is looking to give back to the University.
Ré plans to donate his house, property and art archive to UNM's Jonson Gallery when he dies.
His assets will be liquidated and given to the University, and his art will be used in a rotating exhibition at the UNM Art Museum, Ré said.
"It is very much the theme of my whole life's work, and this is the first of three portions of my bequest that is being fulfilled at the University," he said.
Ré said he has worked as an artist for more than 30 years and has received letters of praise from peers like Georgia O'Keefe and Raymond Jonson.
Ré requested that a sculpture garden be built in front of the gallery, curator Chip Ware said.
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Ware said Ré's artwork is a reflection of his knowledge of physics.
"He applies his training to his artwork, so it underlies a lot of what he does," he said. "He came out with a book with very meticulous pencil drawing, and you can see influences from M.C. Escher."
Ré has also established the Paul Bartlett Ré Peace Prize, awarded to representatives of peace in the Albuquerque community, Ré said.
Winners receive a cash prize and a certificate designed by Ré.
"One of the most important things about it is that it is given to people in different disciplines, and I think that is a very big aspect of the peace prize," he said. "Only when people of all different disciplines point their own lives at peace can we really have peace in the world."
This year's winners were Stephen Littlejohn, a mediator; Arti Prasad, a doctor of alternative medicine; William Gross, an engineer; and Edward Hakim Bellamy, a poet.
Littlejohn said he was honored to receive the award.
"I do think of myself as a peacemaker in the broad sense of the word," he said. "The kind of communication consulting I do is to facilitate communication processes and dialogue with various groups that are making decisions together."
Ré is an adviser to the committee that presents the biannual awards.
"Not only is it persons of all disciplines, but the second important part of the peace prize is that it emphasizes both internal and external peace," he said. "For example, we can't share peace if we don't have it within ourselves to begin with. And so those two parts are really important to really emphasize both disciplines, internally and externally."
