Group exhibit of graduating art students from the BA and BFA studio art programs of the University of the Incarnate Word

Invalid Displayed Gallery

Victoria Sanchez

My paintings and prints confront the viewer with images they may find familiar, whether they are historical references or not, the viewer has experienced these images in their own lives at one point or another. Hands and hearts are repeated throughout my work, as well as the human torso, emphasizing the connection between individuals. These images are also iconic in Christian iconography, as they represent Creation and God’s unfailing love for humanity, two key principles in many of Christianity. The floral elements, representational or not, are my own take on faith and science; tying scientific names and meaning into ideologies. Being raised in a fast paced generation and living in an ever-changing society, it is important to find something that anchors me to a single constant, and that is my faith, however, not everyone will agree. As a society, there must to something that ties everyone together, however small that may be. My work aims to do that with imagery that is very familiar to all, and ideals that are there for those who choose to find them.

J. F. Neri

I am a mixed media artist who uses the camera as the core of my artworks. My photographs are stylized in a non-traditional manner as a way of showing the viewer a different vision of the images. I use light in my composition to change the viewers’ perception of the subject matter; ultimately light helps us understand the changes in the perceivable world. The world around us is something that, I believe, we perceive through our senses and something that we create not something that is received. By working with light and materials that coincide with the use of light, it becomes apparent in the artwork, that a transition of different color lights causes a different insight of the subject matter.

Michelle Claire

Currently, the body of work I have been producing is based on composition and the organization of formal elements to achieve visual harmony while exploring different materials. The subject matter of my work addresses issues related to conceptual thought processes, formal abstract, metaphors, and social justice. My ideas are expressed through a variety of media and include: photography, drawing, painting and sculpture. As a mixed media artist I work with many materials that include, paper, fabric, wood, markers, film and found objects. Choice of materials and processes are driven by the concept.
My main focus in photography is to show the realities and truths of life without altering or manipulating the scene. I have always had a passion to create work that includes people other than me. The fact that art has the capacity to bring people together to create a blended community of both artists and non-artists is intriguing to me. So I developed and started a project that intentionally involves the community as I explore San Antonio searching for willing participants. The installation piece creates a community in itself and all the people that contributed become the art. Since the encounters with many people were random and unplanned I chose to execute a multimedia collage to represent that quality. Combining photographs, quotes and donated random objects provides the viewer with the essence of human existence: visual, verbal, and physical. My goal is to create something that goes beyond my own voice and includes multiple voices and perspectives centralized around one thought provoking question: What does art mean to you?

Christian Marie Castillo

My work in clay addresses the concept of unity—it is both the subject of my work and my formal preoccupation. This is made evident in the individual units that comprise my work that are coerced to form a whole. I begin with folding abstract shapes into themselves, fusing them together until arriving at unified organic form. The opposition of the beginning and end emphasizes the complexity of one object, quality, or idea. Arriving at a harmonious end is important as it serves as a metaphor for the harmony that is needed between and within ourselves to sustain a level of peace in our existence.

Kmilo Marin

I am a visual thinker. Through the use of graphics, I communicate and explore my visual journey derived from my experience as an art and design student, and as a member of a technology-based generation. My identity reflects my work. My work lives through my identity. I am the son of immigrants in search of a stable future. I am a friend and a loyal companion. I am the strength of my father, the love of my mother, the ferocity of my grandparents and the colorful diversity of my siblings.
I strongly believe in a generation of humans willing to stand up for fairness and equality. I seek for the full understanding of human emotion in a conflicted society. I am a citizen of two worlds. My duality (experience) lets me perceive everything from both the inside and the outside. I take advantage of looking through the glass in different perspectives and develop my ideas into a universal affinity.
I capitalize on the experience within the communication process and technique rather than the end result. I work with a variety of media. I think of my work as glimpses of my imagination: objects, drawings, paintings, photographs, computer graphics and other collage/assemblages. They are sometimes improvisational and sometimes neatly composed. I believe in the importance and respect of human diversity, and I believe that mixed media (along with computer graphics), give me the balance to relate the context and communicating it on multicultural scale, playing along the boundaries of language, symbolic knowledge and the contrast between traditional and experimental techniques.
My compositions are amicable, sometimes humorous, and sometimes dramatic.
I focus into inviting the viewer to ‘touch’ through texture and relief. I rely on a sculptural aspect to the work, breaking the dimensionality of a flat surface approach or graphic to enhance the experience with the viewer.
With influences as diverse as Pablo Neruda and Robert Rauschenberg, it is the recycling of ideas through techniques learned through art history and developing my personality and belief system that I can create new worlds that carry both explicit and implicit meanings. Ever since I was a young I have been fascinated by any form of meaningful artistic communication I have encounter, whether is commercial or fine arts. Being able to highlight the concept behind the piece requires my personal understanding of both the functionality of the piece through its form and my desired communication. I find myself highly influenced by ideals of surrealism and minimalism and believe they are useful in my communication. It is very important for me to reach a level of balanced aesthetics within each communication device or medium I chose.

Eduardo Perez

With A Background in Graphic Design I found the digital media the best way to express and produce my art. My work as printmaker complements it helping to bring my ideas created in a virtual world into reality. I enjoy the texture created from the paper on ink as well as exploring different ways to produce my work through printmaking and digital illustration.
With subjects related to nature and symbolism treated with my own personal style, My work shows influences from the ancient, classic and the contemporary illustration and printmaking.

Tiffany Miller

My work in photography attempts to bring inspiration and thought to all who view it. The content of my recent art work addresses the theme related to the intrusion of the human world upon the natural world. It is not my intent to “paint” a dark picture of this theme or portray it in disgust, but rather to show the possibility that these two worlds can co-exist. It is my hope that through the perspective of my lens that the viewer may perhaps ponder a solution before these two worlds becomes inseparable.

Kristina Williams

My interests are not simply internal; I am passionate about my place in the big picture of cultural, social, and global issues. The figures I have painted and drawn are inspired by many months of researching human trafficking, girl’s education, water rights issues, war, implications of factory farming, as well as other animal-related issues. To contrast with some of the distressing stories associated with the images I place icons of hope and compassion. The use of small picture planes is my attempt to push the audience to “take a closer look.” My hope is to be an instrument of change. I, myself, cannot donate the money to pull people out of homelessness, for example, but I can bring my audience into awareness and I hope that I push them to be socially and globally conscious.

Rebecca Gonzalez

It seems the subject of body image is a growing concern, especially among young women. The pressure from society’s need to put forth a notion for adopting an unrealistic idealized standard for the human body has led to a rapid growth in the need to conform; the concern with whether one “fits” the standard or not has resulted in a turn towards extreme and sometimes harmful measures in order to cope. My work focuses on the use of the female portrait as a means of addressing this theme related to identity. These portraits with empty eyes in an empty space with the presence of bees, bugs and other pests nearby suggests that these women are blind to the vision of the dangers that lie in the pursuit of the unrealistic expectations of standardized beauty. The accompanying pests are meant to symbolize the negative impact of falling prey to such a dangerous game. My delicate nature of my materials and technique allow me to achieve soft and enticing surfaces associated with human flesh in order to imply the notion of perfection amongst the haunting pestilence that lurks close by.

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Sergio Sandoval Jr

Bordering on surrealism using colors inspired by my time spent in the southwest and Mexico. Landscapes that play proportions and perspective.
Visually stimulating while letting imagination wonder.
Each piece is unique and came to me by things I have seen and dreamt. I try to let each piece tell a little story about me and place I would like to be…weather is here on Earth or not. I like using strong lines for definition while letting bursts of color take your breath away. My Art is in the details; while that may not be the first thing you see it becomes more and more apparent as you appreciate the work. I like to take time with each piece as I want whoever adopts my art to feel the passion and hard work that was put into every detail.

Ross Van Hunt

When I paint, it is as if me and the canvas are connected as one. There are no rules, no language, and it is something words can never describe. Painting is a lifestyle, it is a religion, it is a place where I am truly free.

Artist website: http://www.rossvanhunt.com

Sam Wilson “Spot Slim”

As a developing artist I am always drawing inspiration from different thoughts, situations and experiences. A painting can begin as a random vision that strikes me. I want to see how that thought will evolve on a canvas. I want to see how it will look in reality. I also grab inspiration from thoughts I wish to express visually. I am always on the lookout for a feeling I want to portray. I tend to paint bold and heavy subject matter with the intent to create an emotion that stays with the viewer long after they have left the room. Almost every piece that I create I view as a learning experience. I am always finding alternate ways to paint and build the subject in order to elevate the emotion I am trying to capture. I come to find there are so many ways to create one feeling in a painting.
I reference both photo realism and surrealism styles. I emphasis details and choose subject matter that is either abstracted or manipulated to create a strong emotion and eeriness. I want to capture the realism in a subject while highlighting the underlying sense of surrealism that lingers in reality.
Intricate detail is an important part of my art. It offers unique transitions and pieces that make the painting exciting to explore. I like the idea of taking a single subject and building it from all the small details it is composed of. It’s like telling a story. Every small detail does its part to create a mood for the entire painting. It can be unified and broken down to be experienced part by part like a book. I want to create images that are not only visually striking but saturated with emotion too. My paintings can be a visual journey just as painting them is a journey.

Ben Ortiz

In an overhyped, hyper stylized, supercommidified, plantation modeled society, people’s thirst for meaning of existence is
temporarily soothed with illusions like religious ponderings of a better way after it’s over, patriotism, consumption, etc.. Some people jump off a bridge or ingest toxic substances. I paint. We all, in some form wish to live free the tyranny of our own limitations, including the ultimate reality of our own eventual death.

210.827.7681

April 11

Opening Reception: April 11, 2014 6 pm – 10:00 pm