The Consulate General of Mexico in Houston, the Mexican Tourism Board
and Serrano Gallery present
"The Fifth Element"
A group art exhibit with works by four renowned artists from Oaxaca, Mexico -- Rolando Rojas, Saul Castro, Dieder Mayes, Ixrael Montes -- and local Houston artist, Valentina Atkinson. Curated by Armando Rodriguez and Lorena Morales.
Opening Reception
Friday, September 28, 2018
6:00 - 9:00 PM
Serrano Gallery
Silver Street Studios
2000 Edwards Street. Suite #304.
Houston, TX 77007
(Map and directions included below).
Meet The Artists
Four of the five artists participating in the V Element group show are well-known members of one of the most vibrant and rich artistic legacies in Mexico. Rolando Rojas, Saúl Castro, Didier Mayés and Ixrael Montes are artists and printmakers who live and work in Oaxaca. Each has his own distinct style; however, all are associated with, and inspired by a long visual arts tradition that includes such illustrious Masters as Rufino Tamayo, Francisco Toledo, Guillermo Cabrera, Rodolfo Morales and Rodolfo Nieto. The Southern region of Mexico, where Oaxaca is located, is routinely celebrated for its unique artistic and graphic arts output, its cultural institutions and a plethora of art and printmaking studios. The work of these artists, which has been exhibited around the world, exemplifies the exquisite quality and range of contemporary art and printmaking in Mexico.
Artist Bios
Rolando Rojas
Rolando Rojas has been an enduring and steadfast presence in the Mexican visual arts scene for decades, and maintains a studio in Houston's Sawyer Yards campus. The artist and printmaker who is often described as an “Oaxacan painter,” based on his ability to faithfully and beautifully convey the aesthetic and visual history of the region of the Mexican Central Valley he calls home.
Born in Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico, Rojas identifies strongly with the culture of the Záa (cloud people). The Tehuantepec ancestors believed they descended from mystical trees and animals like lizards, fish and turtles. His colorful works illustrate how the universal creator formulates a versatile world where imaginary and mythological characters and themes reign supreme.
In a relatively short time, Rojas has become a master of this tradition, and has achieved international recognition, with exhibitions traveling to the United States, Japan, France, Canada, Cuba, Argentina, and Puerto Rico.
Didier Mayés
Didier Mayés is a Mexican artist who is known for his distinctive and colorful abstract iconography. His education includes studies in the Escuela de Bellas Artes of the Universidad Benito Juarez in Oaxaca, and a degree in industrial design. He also studied ceramic arts under Juan Alberu, and art under Francisco Monterrosa. His works have been exhibited in Mexico, the United States, and Colombia.
Saúl Castro
Saúl Castro is a Mexican visual artist. Born in the city of Oaxaca, Castro studied at the School of Fine Arts in Oaxaca. In 1993, he collaborated with Master Shinzaburo Takeda in the making of an art mural in Japan, and in 1995, he entered the Rufino Tamayo workshop, where he attended several courses and was awarded a scholarship in 1997. Castro is also the founder of the Sachmo Art Center, an educational organization that offers courses and workshops to the public.
Castro's work has been widely exhibited in Mexico, Japan, Spain, Argentina and the United States. His work combines elements of abstract and figurative art in compositions that often feature marine wildlife and the deep, rich colors of his native region.
Ixrael Montes
Ixrael Montes is a contemporary Mexican artist. He was born in Jamiltepec (San José de las Flores), and moved to Oaxaca a the age of 19, to study visual arts. He specialized in painting and printmaking, and joined the Taller de Artes Plásticas Rufino Tamayo. Over the course of a 30-year career, Montes' work has been exhibited in several countries, and is held in various museums, public and private collections. Montes asserts that his work is influenced by African art and Mixtec art; the artist explains: "It is like a portal that leads toward my roots, and toward the landscapes. histories and legends of the Coast near Guerrero and Oaxaca."
Valentina Atkinson
Valentina Atkinson’s work is best known for her free-spirited use of overlapping fields of color in abstract watercolor compositions that fall outside of traditional genre conventions. Her recent explorations have cultivated a hybrid form that collapses the distinction between painting and collage by incorporating painted acetate layers on paper. In addition, Atkinson’s works on paper encompass acrylic, encaustic and ink/watercolor compositions. The artist's work has been juried and shown throughout the United States and Mexico, and is held in dozens of private collections internationally.
Directions
Silver Street Studios. 2000 Edwards Street. Houston, TX 77007
FROM IH-10: Exit the freeway on Taylor Street, going South. Continue onto Sawyer Street. Turn left onto Edwards Street. Turn left again on Silver Street, and enter the complex through the first entrance. Drive past the first building on your left, and you will enter a parking lot by making a slight right past the second building. Park, and walk up on to the deck on the North side of the building (a sign over the first door you will encounter reads "Silver Street Studios.") Enter through that door.
Inside Silver Street Studios
Enter through the fourth entrance on the North side of the Silver Street Studios building.
Take your second left, and Serrano Gallery will be the first door to your left.
Sponsors
SERRANO GALLERY specializes in contemporary abstract and figurative art by established and emerging international artists, with a primary focus on Latin American artists. The mission of the gallery is to promote art that nurtures the human soul. The gallery regularly hosts public exhibitions and arts events in its state-of-the-art facility throughout the year, and welcomes visitors by appointment.
Contact
Valentina Atkinson at Serrano Gallery, 713-724-0709.