SCULPTURE

The sculptures below were created and exhibited in El Paso, Texas from 1971-76.


This piece was exhibited at the UTEP Union Gallery in 1973 in a show called "Coming Attractions". The piece is made of telephone poles and sisal rope. Thirty feet in length it is entitled "Space Drawing #1."

Works by Dennis Evans, Jim LaSalandra and Mark Negrete were also in the exhibition.



"Space Drawing #2" was exhibited in "Obras Monumentales" an exhibition that was held at the Chamizal National Memorial in 1974. Others in the exhibition included Dennis Evans, the late Manny Acosta and Mago Orona.



Space Drawing #3 was installed at the Fox Fine Arts Center in 1974.



Space Drawing #5 was also installed at the Fox Fine Arts Center in 1975. This was the last of the pieces made with telephone poles through which I explored issues of balance, counter balance, and tension, physically and psychologically.



"Geometrics" was a series developed in 1975-76. Using a variety of more refined materials I continued to explore those issues, incorporating suspension as a variable.

This piece is Geometrics #1 made of oak, pine batten, and aluminum. The piece is displayed here in the sculpture department of the Fox Fine Art Center.



Geometrics #2 was installed in the Glass Gallery at the Fox Fine Arts Center in 1975. A similar piece (not pictured) was installed in a group exhibition in the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens in May 1975.


Geomtrics #3 installed in the art department as part of a student exhibition at UTEP in 1976. The received a second place award in the sculpture category.

My work in sculpture and clay began to meld together by 1975. While I continued to make pottery, my attention turned to clay as a metaphor for life and living. There were many experiments that included video, performance, research, writing, and the use of raw clay with other materials. The two pieces shown below are representative of those experiments.


"Spiders" were structures that were made of red wood, oak, metal hardware, and had raw clay pulled handles suspended from the center. This piece was a part of my Bachelor of Fine Arts exhibition in 1976. The piece was installed in the Glass Gallery in the Fox Fine Arts Center.


"22 Pulled Handles" was exhibited at the UTEP Union Gallery in 1976 in an exhibition entitled "Sculpture in the Fall." Here 22 raw clay pulled handles are suspended from 5 pieces of redwood. A select group of students and teachers were invited to view the creation of the piece in the gallery prior to the opening of the exhibition.

NARRATIVE PAINTINGS

In the years after leaving El Paso I continued to make functional pottery, but was aesthetically focused on conceptual work. Process mattered so much more than the object. Nothwithstanding, most of my work from the late 70's, 80's and 90's are paintings. I turned to painting because it was more conducive to the extensive travel I had undertaken. Because of my involvement in video and writing, much of the work from the late 70's and 80's is narrative and includes dialogue written on 2 inch broadcast quality videotape that is adhered to the canvas.


The first large painting in this series is entitled "Day Time Gentlemen, Nocturnal Animals." The painting pays homage to Dennis Evans, Jim LaSalandra and Mark Negrete. These three individuals did much to help me find clarity in the development of my aesthetic."


"Notion of Intention" was exhibited in a three-man show at the Old Tiferet in Dallas Texas in 1979. The use of the double entendre is typical to this series of paintings.

Choza O Choza was also shown at the Old Tiferet in Dallas, Texas. The multi-media piece measures 6'x13'.

Because of my employment at the Texas Commission on the Arts I was unable to exhibit regularly since 1980 due to "Conflict of Interest" regulations. However, in 1987 I accepted an invitation from the Arts Resources Department in El Paso to participate in an exhibition entitled "Three Who Left, One Who Came". The three autobiographical paintings below were included in the exhibition. Each of the paintings measure 5'x 6' and are done in a combination of acrylic, oil and alkyd.


"Listos Para Los Botellasos" is a reflection on my time at Austin High School during the late 60's. The painting is a composite from prom photos of me and the El Paso sculptor, Anna Jacquez (Anna Ruth Sunderman).

"Si Tu Fueras A Mi Puerta Con Un Vaso De Leche" is a painting that reflects major life change.


"En La Imagen De Mi Jefe" reflects my coming to terms with the values, work ethic and general lessons that were imparted on me by my father.

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