DENVER -- Travel to the sun-drenched Southwest of artist Georgia O'Keefe with a new tasting menu at Palettes restaurant at the Denver Art Museum. Palettes is open every weekday for lunch, as well as Friday evening for dinner and Sunday mornings for brunch.

"This menu incorporates spices like cumin and chili pepper along with staple Southwestern ingredients such as pickled red onions, blue corn tortillas and cilantro, all incorporated into traditional dishes that we've prepared with a modern twist," said Chef Kevin Taylor in a statement.


"Additionally, all courses are plated with a nod to O'Keefe's modern aesthetic that features bold use of imagery and color."

As the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico offers tantalizing tastes that blend several cultures. The tasting menu gives a nod to New Mexico's ancient ancestors with Mayan Chicken Tostadas, and also incorporates all-American dishes such as Buttermilk Fried Chicken.

The Denver Art Museum is displaying "Georgia O'Keefe in New Mexico: Architecture, Katsinam, and the Land" through April 28, 2013. The exhibit features 53 O'Keeffe works, including paintings on loan from the Georgia O'Keefe Museum in Santa Fe, N.M.

Born in 1887, Georgia O'Keefe had her first exhibit in New York in 1916. She married photographer Alfred Stieglitz in 1924. Eventually, O'Keefe's renown eclipsed her husband's as she shocked the art world with voluptuous close-ups of flowers. In 1929, O'Keefe began spending time in New Mexico, where she fell in love with the stark landscapes.

Three years after her husband's death in 1946, O'Keefe moved to New Mexico as a full-time resident.

Her attention turned to the bleached cow skulls and abstract shapes of the New Mexican landscape. O'Keefe also painted katsina tithu, commonly known as kachina dolls, but rarely exhibited the work. O'Keefe died in 1986 at the age of 98.

"Georgia O'Keefe in New Mexico: Architecture, Katsinam, and the Land" rectifies this slight by displaying drawings, watercolors and paintings of the katsinam. The Hopi dolls represent spirits as part of the Katsina religion. "Katsinam" is the plural form for "katsina" in the Hopi language.

"This exhibition provides a new way to look at a very popular American artist,” said Thomas Smith, director of the Petrie Institute of Western American Art at the DAM, in a statement. "O'Keeffe was captivated by the cultures and colorful landscapes of New Mexico. Visitors will have the chance to experience this part of the country -- its culture, people and landscape -- through the eyes of the artist."

"Georgia O'Keefe in New Mexico: Architecture, Katsinam, and the Land" is included in general admission at the Denver Art Museum. The museum is open from Tuesday through Sunday. Admission for Colorado residents is $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors and $3 for youth.