DISCOVERING NEW ARTISTS

Hacia el Sol

When doing my study of birds and saints I come across some wonderfully interesting art. This one is a local (Seattle) artist, whose colors and patterns I find fascinating. For me his work is very reminiscent of the Impressionists but has a lot of Expressionism thrown into the mix, esp. Gustave Klimt. Leaping salmon, birds and butterflies, and other images, are composed of dense dabs, dashes and dots of thin pigment.

ALFREDO ARREGUIN was in Mexico in 1935,  developed as an artist and consolidated his professional career in Seattle, Washington, where he has lived almost continuously since 1956.  His creative vision derives inspiration from sources that include art forms from Korea and Japan, where he served in the U.S. military. The memories of his country of birth, generate a distinctive character on his works, especially in his use of colors.

Mexico’s vibrant and ascetic culture, its colorful arts and crafts, its tumultuous and glorious history 
weave dreamlike patterns, blending with cool and serene are of the Northwest. His lush landscapes comprised of patterns are intricate geometrics that hide or reveal larger portraits of animals or people.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/arts/2012/09/05/alfredo-arreguin-paints-lush-mysteries-at-the-tacoma-public-librarys-handforth-gallery/#storylink=cpy

San Francisco

Having an MFA his work is found around the world. In 1994, the Smithsonian Institution acquired his triptych Sueño (Dream: Eve Before Adam) for inclusion in the collection of the National Museum of American Art. A year later, in 1995, Arreguín received the highest recognition (OHTLI Award) given by the Mexican government to the commitment of distinguished individuals who perform activities that contribute to promote Mexican culture abroad.

More recently, his success has been cemented by an invitation to show his work in the Framing Memory: Portraiture Now exhibition, at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. One of his paintings included in this show, The Return to Aztlán, will remain in the permanent collection of the gallery. Thus, Arreguín's work is now in the permanent collections of two Smithsonian Museums: The National Museum of American Art and the National Portrait Gallery.

Nuestra Senora de la Selva, 1988,

Describing Arreguin’s work, Jose Luis Alcubilla writes, “he constructs a double reality: the one we see everyday, and the perplexing one that he offers to us like a profoundly vital feast of the earth whose expansion touches everything. In his portraits, therefore, Arreguín recreates a memory with which he shows us that life is a flourishing face.”

Alfredo Arreguin: Patterns of Dreams and Nature (The Jacob Lawrence Series on American Artists) Lauro Flores, Author, Alfredo Arreguin, Illustrator