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EXHIBITS: Artists need exposure

EXHIBITS/from J13

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"CONTEMPLATING": A work by Mary Louise Lopez, San Antonio native, in acrylic, is part of exhibit opening at the Mexican Cultural Institute.

Of the four group shows, three are subjects of an ongoing debate in the art world: the organization of exhibitions by either ethnicity or gender.

"I think at this point in time it is necessary to have these types of shows," said Sister Lydia Peña, an art professor at Denver's Loretto Heights College and one of four jurors for "Expresiónes Hispanas." "Like any other minority, including women, Hispanic artists have not had the kind of exposure they deserve. I hope someday these shows won't be necessary, but right now they are."

Of the 50 artists in "Expresiónes Hispanas," only one, Paul Sierra of Illinois, is also in "Hispanic Art in the United States," the exhibit of 30 artists organized by the Corcoran Gallery and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts that is currently touring the country. The lack of duplication suggests that there is still a large, unknown community of talented Hispanic artists deserving of exposure.

"I'm delighted with these two shows," Peña said. "However, we are not getting exposure in national art periodicals. Perhaps the factor involved in this omission is that we're not really promoting ourselves. I say 'we,' including art historians who are not doing enough to write about our artists and submitting articles to the periodicals."

There's another somewhat controversial aspect to "Expresiónes Hispanas." The show's sponsor, the Adolph Coors Co., has had a stormy relationship with the Mexican-American community in Colorado. Accusations of job discrimination led to a national boycott against Coors.

There has been considerable improvement in the relationship, but, still, some artists refused to submit slides for consideration in the show and Peña had to consider her own involvement.

"I've been very active in working against aid to the Contras," Peña said. "Joseph Coors supports the Contras. The way I resolved it is that he is one member of the family. It is not the Coors corporation that gives aid to the Contras, it's that one family member.

"There have been major problem in the past, but I do see the company taking some real steps to eliminate them. I had some artists ask me if they should enter the show, and I said, 'This is where I stand. You have to decide for yourself.'"

"Expresiónes Hispanas" will travel to the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles and the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, located just outside of Denver.

The Colorado connection to this week's art explosion continues with the "Third Coast Review," a show that originated at the Aspen Art Museum and has also been mounted at the University of Colorado in Boulder and the Powerplant Visual Arts Center in Fort Collins, Colo.

The show was curated by Annette Carlozzi, former senior curator at the Laguna Gloria Museum in Austin, and now director of the Aspen Art Museum. While in Austin, Carlozzi authored "Fifty Texas Artists," a book that profiled some of the state's most prominent artists.

Although there was some encouragement to mount an exhibition of the artists from the book, "Third Coast Review" is not to be interpreted as such.

"We started a series in Aspen that focuses on emerging artists from various regions of the country," Carlozzi said. "It was really designed for Aspen and then there was interest in the show traveling to other galleries."

Carlozzi decided to start her regional series with Texas. She admitted to a certain prejudice, but sounded full of sincere conviction when she said "I think that the art being made in Texas is as strong, or stronger, than art being made anywhere else.

"The art world in general has gotten very conservative in the past five years, with people looking more to New York and Europe. We inaugurated this series to help artists get attention without feeling that they have to move to New York. I heard the same attitude among artists in Chicago although the work is very different."

Chicago and the Midwest will be the next focus for Carlozzi, although she found the regional voice there not as strong as in Texas.

"You can't just generalize with visual art, but Texas does have a very strong effect on the people who live and work there. You see it almost more often than you don't," said Carlozzi, citing various cultural and religious traditions that result in "rich subject matter."

"I'm afraid that for Texas artists it's almost a ghettoized situation. But anybody in this show could be taken out of that context and be seen as an important or challenging American artist worthy of greater attention."

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EXHIBIT OPENINGS

TODAY: "Taos and Zen" and "Out of Africa." Two-person show featuring new works on paper by local painter, illustrator and graphic designer Lyn Belisle, and watercolors by University of Texas at Austin art professor Michael Frary. Sol Del Rio Gallery, 5 p.m. Gallery hours 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 1020 Townsend. 828-5555.

MONDAY: "Festival de Artes." 20 local Hispanic artists including Jesse Amado, Rolando Briseño, Diana Cardenas and Manuel Franco. Opening reception 5-7 p.m. Sponsored by the Ford Motor Co. Gallery hours Noon-6 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday through May 15. Lobby, 110 Broadway. 224-8031.

THURSDAY: "Expresiónes Hispanas." 50 Hispanic artists, including San Antonians Miguel Cortinas, Louis LeRoy and Mary Louise Lopez. Part of the Coors National Hispanic Art Exhibit and Tour; co-sponsored by The Light. Opening reception 6 p.m., Mexican Cultural Institute. Also opening at the institute will be a one-man show by Alberto Mijangos, a native of Mexico and longtime resident of San Antonio. Gallery hours 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday -Friday, noon-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. 600 HemisFair Plaza. 227-0123.

FRIDAY: "Third Coast Review: A Look at Art in Texas." 69 contemporary artists including San Antonians Mel Casas, Richard Thompson and Kathy Vargas, and former residents Steve Daly and Toni Rosato. Reception 7 p.m., Blue Start Art Space. Also on exhibit will be recent works by UTSA art professor Charles Field. Gallery hours noon-6 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. 1400 S. Alamo at Probandt. 227-6960.

"Art Reverberations." 15 local artists including Jane Randall and Vivian Yatteau. National Women's Caucus for Art exhibition sponsored by the local WCA chapter. Reception 7 p.m. at San Antonio College's Koehler House. Gallery hours 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday. 310 W. Ashby at Belknap. 733-2894.

Paintings by James Kuiper, San Antonio Art Institute dean. Reception 6 p.m., Read Stremmel Gallery. Gallery hours 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. 100 W. Olmos. 828-7454.

Mixed media drawings by Mila Castro. Reception 7 p.m., Centro Cultural Aztlan's Expresión Gallery at Las Palmas Mall, 803 Castroville, Suite 155. Gallery hours 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. 432-1896.
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[San Antonio Light, Sunday, May 1, 1988]