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Page 6 River City Review July 1991

ART

CONTEMPORARY ART IN SAN ANTONIO

July is Contemporary Art Month in San Antonio. The most exciting art event of the year is here again with an overwhelming line-up of visual and performance art, film and video, workshops and seminars on the arts.

Exhibiting this month are the area's finest and brightest artists along with some less familiar but equally talented names. Most major museums and cultural centers have scheduled events for the month as have three universities and scores of galleries and other venues.

The Blue Star Art Space, the precursor of the fledgling contemporary art movement in San Antonio, will sponsor a public forum on "Contemporary Art Month: A Redefinition," on August 2, which will explore the implications and directions of the month.

Most exhibits will open by mid-month on July 11 or 12. However, the Southwest Craft Center's exhibition of Linda Suggs' installation, "Innocent," and the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center's "Freedom of Choice," opened in late June. The exhibition is a socially and politically charged collection of works by David Zamora Casas, Kathy Vargas, Bernice Williams and others.

The University of Texas at San Antonio's Art Gallery is showing a groundbreaking exhibition first seen at Mexico City's Museo de Arte de Carrillo Gil. "Tejanos" 15 Painters and Three Sculptors" was originally organized by Jansen Perez Gallery of San Antonio to expose Chicano artists in Mexico.

"Tejanos" includes Jesse Treviño, Rolando Briseño, Mel Casas, César Martínez, Alberto Mijangos among others. The artist selected for this exhibition represent a cross-section of styles ranging from politically charged art of the Chicano movement, conceptual artists, and purely abstract expressionists influenced by European and American Art movements.

Adan Hernandez, whose works were recently acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York for its permanent collection, says of his most recent body of work: "My art is of course, about my personal experience. It is not about lust, hate or fury (although I've known hate and fury well in my life, in trying to determine what is American and what is mine). I feel that my art is like nature. It emulates nature, in its attempt to set the mind to dreaming."

Another influential figure working in San Antonio and represented in the "Tejanos" exhibit is César Martínez, who first came to prominence in art circles that emerged with the Chicano political movement. His work continues to evolve. Martínez feels that each series is influenced by the others. However, the different themes require changes in style resulting in a wide range of work.

"The ruggedness of the brush country and the harshness of its climate serve as a metaphor for the survival in the area and for events taking place there," Martínez says of his latest series greatly influenced by the South Texas environment typical of his native Laredo.

Mel Casas, now living in Europe, will make the trip to San Antonio for the opening of his exhibition of recent paintings at Jansen Perez Gallery. Casas' latest work will share space with the work of David Alfaro Siqueiros, a giant of the Mexican mural movement, as well as César Martínez. A stunning set of the master muralist's lithographs familiar to a Mexican audience will be on view. Both shows open July 11,

[[image - painting]]
Mel Casas, Icon II is on view at Jansen-Perez Gallery

Other San Antonio artists including Pat Kupeli, Tony Suñiga, Ted Abercrombie Jr., and Mahala Marshall-Rood are on exhibit at the Art Cellar in its "Quattrocentro 1991."

"Contemporary Work From Oaxaca" is on view at Milagros Art Gallery and will feature works by Maria Helena Hernandez Huerta, Felipe Morales, Adrian Alaniz and others.

Perhaps the most innovative and varied collection of art will be gathered at the Blue Star Loft Complex. The exhibition, organized by Diane Mazur, is a series of open studios where some 60 artists will show their work. A public viewing is scheduled for July 12 and 13, with a fundraising party set for July 11.

The Blue Star Art Space will feature a one-man by artist Henry Stein.