PLUMAGE PLUMAGE--TX Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events
April 2015 Issue
Art Magazine FREE
Richard Riverin Chemistry Painter
Boerne Parade of Artists Parade of Artists 2015
Jorge Rodríguez Rodríguez-Gerada
Bill Scheidt Interview with the Boerne Artist & Horse Farrier
Russell Stephenson “Dreamachine” Series
Terrestrial Portraits in San Antonio
PLUMAGE PLUMAGE--TX
FEATURES April 2015 Issue No. 2
28 Richard Riverin A Chemist turned businessman makes his own paint, his story, life, and inspirations.
32 Bill Scheidt A Boerne Western Art and Wildlife painter shares his story—Question and Answer interview
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Russell Stephenson How the ‘Dreamachine’ originally inspired my gridbased work.
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PLUMAGE PLUMAGE--TX
IN THIS ISSUE EVENTS
The Terrestrial portrait series of Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada and his portrait in San Antonio
BPA—Parade of Artists, participating venues, artists and listings—P.3
Social Wrap Up Thomas Arvid opening and VIP dinner event pictures —P.44
PLUMAGE PLUMAGE--TX Premier April 2015 Issue
PUBLISHER
14 IN EVERY ISSUE A Note from the Publisher –P.8 On the Cover—P.12
Gabriel Diego Delgado Contributing Writers Gabriel Diego Delgado Katherine Shevchenko All artwork photography courtesy of J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art Prices are for current artwork, and can change at any time
Contributors— P.13 © 2015 JR Mooney Galleries
Framing of the Month—P.40
305 S. Main Boerne, Texas 78006 830-816-5106 Edited by Gabriel Diego Delgado, Marla Cavin, Katherine , Betty Houston Design by: Gabriel Diego Delgado
A Note from the Publisher
“ITS OUR SECOND EDITION OF PLUMAGE-TX MAGAZINE. ANOTHER MONTH OF RAIN MIXED WITH COLD TEMPERATURES AND WE ENTER INTO SPRING. THE HILL COUNTRY IS ON THE VERGE OF ONE OF THE TWO MAJOR EVENTS HOSTED BY THE BOERNE PROFESSIONAL ARTIST ASSOCIATION IN APRIL AND SAN ANTONIO IS WRAPPING UP CONTEMPORARY ART MONTH… A LOT IS GOING ON IN THE SAN ANTO METRO.” Again the premise behind this magazine is as follows: There seems to be a void in the local magazines that spotlight the individual galleries and museums; their openings, social programming and artists. PLUMAGETX hopes to use its pages as a vehicle to educate, entertain and enlighten our audience on a variety of topics ranging from reviews, news, artist narratives, interviews, criticism and a cohort of other art related stories from within the gallery walls to the major metro centers. I hope you find this informative and hope you continue to follow the artistic happenings around you in your local neighborhoods. Sincerely,
Gabriel Diego Delgado, Publisher
gabrieldelgadoartstudio@yahoo.com gabrield@jrmooneygalleries.com
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On the Cover
The picture that graces the cover of the April 2015 edition of Plumage-TX magazine was taken along Main St. in Boerne, TX. Boerne is full of historical buildings, dilapidated barns, reclaimed architecture and a rich history of German immigrant stories. Shown is the remnants of an old barn structure right by the community library box and the Nature Store. Be sure to pay close attention when walking down the Historic Mile in Boerne, Texas... be sure to look down all the alleys, behind buildings and around corners; surprises await .
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Contributors
Gabriel Diego Delgado is the Gallery Director at J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art, Boerne, Texas. He has spent almost a decade in Nonprofit Art Management- working as a Curator of Exhibitions at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston; Project Manager of Research and Development at the Museo Alameda, a Smithsonian Affiliate, San Antonio; Community Outreach/ Communications Director for an art and education nonprofit in Texas and is a working professional artist. He is a Freelance Curator and Arts Reviewer for several publications. His artwork has been shown in Arco 2012 Madrid, Spain; New York, New York, MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) D.C. as well as numerous galleries and venues throughout the U.S.
Katherine Shevchenko has attended the San Francisco Academy of Art University and the University of Texas at San Antonio where she received her Fine Arts Degree with an emphasis in Painting. Her experience ranges from interning as a curatorial assistant at Southwest School of Art to teaching art to students of all ages. Currently, she is an art consultant/framing designer at the J.R. Mooney Gallery in Boerne. Some of her contributions include writing articles, hosting and editing the J.R. Mooney podcast, "Mooney Makes Sense" and art catalog design. She is also an artist that specializes in painting in oils and other media.
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COVER STORY
By: Gabriel Diego Delgado Photography by: Arsenio De Lara & Trinity A. Greer
Photograph courtesy of: Arsenio De Lara
Jorge RodríguezGerada International Artist Completes One of his Signature “Terrestrial” Portraits in San Antonio
Photograph courtesy of: Trinity A. Greer
Jorge RodrĂguez-Gerada Nyssa- The Portrait to Represent Us All 16 /
PLUME-TX Magazine
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H
uddling in the front seat of a loaded down pickup truck filled with miscellaneous art supplies, tools and papers, Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada and I sit, staring off onto his plotted out parking lot pattern to talk about his larger than life, “Terrestrial Series” portrait he completed in San Antonio for Contemporary Art Month (CAM). Painted directly onto the back parking lot of the Christopher Columbus Italian Society, located at 201 Piazza Italia, Rodríguez-Gerada explains the premise and inspirations behind his larger than life horizontal portraits. As a personal guest of former VIA and Museo Alameda Chairman, Owner of Muñoz and Company and political advocate Mr. Henry Muñoz, Rodríguez-Gerada explained his journey to San Antonio and beyond. “I first met Henry at the Smithsonian Gallery National Mall where I was doing a male portrait titled, ‘Out of Many, One’, which was composed on six acres of land next to the Reflecting Pool and by the National World War II Memorial. Henry saw the work, liked what I was doing and we were familiar with each other from other meetings at the annual Miami Basel art exhibition, so he invited me down to San Antonio to commission me to do some artwork inspired by the people of San Antonio and their own unique diversity. Henry is so passionate for his city and its people, that it was a project I knew I wanted to be a part of,” he says. Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada’s signature portraits are often acres long and wide, visually seen in whole only by satellite imagery, drone photography or multi-storied building views. A sort of “contemporary portraiture” that pushes the limitations of traditional portraits, Rodríguez -Gerada’s wants the audience to experience his artwork on many levels; from being able to walk into the artwork, become part of the experience, or see it from above through photography via online; on our computer and cell phone screens. He feels this is all part of his artwork, the physical presence of the piece in the surround environments, how people interact with it and how they perceive it through image. Born in Santa Clara, Cuba Rodríguez-Gerada and his parents fled the Castro regime and ended up in North Plainfield, New Jersey. At 19 he moved to Manhattan and emerged as a post-graffiti art commentator and social artist. Rodríguez-Gerada dropped out of Jersey State College to pursue a career in fine arts. He never feared he would need a degree to achieve his dreams of being a successful artist.
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“If you shoot for the stars you will at least reach the moon”, he says. Rodríguez-Gerada had many hardships along the way, including fathering a child with a severe neurological disorder. Financial strains of this medical condition affected his family. “Dealing with his condition was a financial whirlwind. Our son was on a cocktail of seizure medicines which put him in a vegetative state. In Barcelona, Spain I found alternative treatments for my son, so I moved my family there.” Once in Barcelona, he took an almost 6 year “hiatus” from art to deal with his family. In 2006 he started to work on some original ideas, pushing the envelope of his previous postgraffiti, ‘culture-jamming’ social artwork. “I wanted to push the limits of contemporary portraits,” he says. “These kind of monumental images are a powerful way to talk about the moments…the moments in time. Every one of my art pieces are based on a place, and I go to places to tell a story.” With the “Terrestrial Portrait” of a little girl named Nyssa Gomez, Rodríguez-Gerada addresses the diverse populations of San Antonio. He explains that there has been a spike in the births of girls in San Antonio which will have numerical effects for the future of the city. He is also intrigued by parts of San Antonio that are not delineated by racial divides; something he sees throughout the world in his travel –Belfast and the Middle East.
Photograph courtesy of: Trinity A. Greer
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He points to a newly poured concrete patch on the parking lot, left of the truck cab. “There is where archeologists think the first San Antonio settlement was,” he said. “When you look back in history everything is interlaced, interlocked with interchanges of cultures”, he explains. “I want to celebrate who we are today… I want to give homage to that.”
Photograph courtesy of: Trinity A. Greer
“Nyssa was picked at random, a sort of artist lottery,” he says. Rodríguez-Gerada saw Nyssa and thought her profile reflected an accurate depiction of the “New San Antonio.”
“I want you to take away that this portrait can be any little girl, anyone from San Antonio; enjoy her content gaze, its intent… you can feel she is from a nurtured family, her parents are engaged with her personal development. I am painting her portrait here at the beginning of San Antonio - the original settlement.” Her face will be visible from the highway interchanges to the left of the parking lot downtown and will face the new San Pedro Creek development project (development headed by Muñoz and Company). “This is the future of San Antonio, facing the past,” he explains. “There is so much growth in San Antonio, so much diversity and it keeps getting bigger with more and more innovation.” Photograph courtesy of: Trinity A. Greer Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, April 2015,
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Photograph courtesy of: Arsenio De Lara
Photo
ograph courtesy of: Arsenio De Lara
Photograph courtesy of: Arsenio De Lara
As an artist I have a duty to embrace cultures, there is a need to reflect, no one gets to choose where they are born… if we look deeply, deep down, we are all the same.” Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada completed his San Antonio portrait in three days and wrapped up his sojourn in San Antonio with an artist discussion at the Alameda Theater, hosted by Muñoz and Company on Sunday, March 29, 2015. For more information on Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada and his large scale “terrestrial” portraits, visit www.jorgerodriguezgerada.com.
© Gabriel Diego Delgado Gallery Director J.R. Mooney Galleries- Boerne
Photograph courtesy of: Arsenio De Lara
COVER STORY
Russell
l Stephenson New Painting Series Dominated by the Grid
Images courtesy of Russell Stephenson
“Awakening the Dreamachine” A Conversation with Russell Stephenson San Antonio based artist, Russell Stephenson has five galleries in Texas that represent his artwork. Each gallery exhibits a different style or aesthetic; often dictated by the buying market of regional clientele. In Boerne, Texas, the J.R. Mooney Galleries of Fine Art showcase his “Texas Panoramic” series; a body of work that is often referred to as abstract landscapes. However, another series of paintings is gaining traction with collectors – the “Dreamachine” series. A body of work that is based off the grid pattern, Russell explores more of the psychedelic nature of overlapping geography.
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“An optical stimulation device developed by Brion Gysin termed the ‘Dreamachine’ originally inspired my grid-based work. This device utilizes the physical attributes of a grid pattern that activates sensory hallucinations in your retina while conscious. In each of the rectangles in my work I explore the visual sensory hallucinations. Each work is comprised of several rows and different organizations of the rectangular modules that make up the work, allowing me to explore multiple facets of individual visuals collectively creating a stimulating pattern in and of itself. Over time, and exploration and contemplation of the grid, I discovered many other associations with the use of the grid in everyday life. Man-made objects and systems are all grid-based which led me to conceptually being able to explore an unlimited wealth of resources in my personal research as to this ‘organizing of and compartmentalizing’ of information. From urban development plans, pixel based images, cultural symbolism, and even division of farmland, I have been able to rearrange and explore many different uses of the grid-system, and also explore variations of overall color schemes, color uses, anomalies, and optical interactions within our visual spectrum. Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, April 2015,
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I treat each fragment of my grid-based work like an individual piece of art so that I can collectively explore many different ideas at once within a single piece. The patterns are constantly changing based on new inspirations and discoveries. At times, the modular system transitions over into other aspects of my work that are more abstract landscapebased work. This complexity only provides more ideas to be explored and combined with new techniques and compositions. The nature of the ‘Dreamachine’ is, the more you explore your mind within the device, the more you discover about the optical phenomenon that occurs in the mind’s eye. The nature of the artwork itself mimics this process by bringing the optical stimulations out of the workings of the mind, and into a visual reality represented with physical materials and visual stimuli.” © Gabriel Diego Delgado Gallery Director J.R. Mooney Galleries- Boerne
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COVER STORY
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COVER STORY
Arti
Bill Scheid
ist for Conservation
dt By: Katherine Shevchenko Photography courtesy of J.R. Mooney Galleries
W
ildlife/Western artist Bill Scheidt channels his reverence for animals into his art where he instills a sense of wonder; hoping to communicate a sense of spirituality through the safeguarding of our natural heritage. Scheidt developed his love for the animal world growing up on a 1, 300 acre ranch in Bandera County, Texas. He reminisces about sitting in a deer blind for hours on end, "‌Seen all kinds of wild game from golden eagles to javelinas. Sometimes sitting there from daylight to dark, that's where I kind of got my love for the wildlife." Unfortunately, discouraged from attending art school, Scheidt had to redirect his life; spending 4 years in the Navy and then holding down various occupations afterward.
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Primarily a self-taught artist, Scheidt kept pursuing his art on the side during his career as a farrier (horseshoer) and horse trainer for 17 years. When occupational pain prevented him from continuing his farrier career unless he had surgery, his wife encouraged him to pursue his painting full time. Even though he admits to having a "rough start," he was able to begin to fulfill his lifelong desire and finally immerse himself in his artistry. His art career has spanned close to 30 years, having participated in many exhibitions locally and nationally. He has been a member of various artist organizations: American Plains Artists, Artists for Conservation and Oil Painters of America to name just a few. Most recently he was featured in "Cerebral Dichotomies of the Boerne Dyad," a two person show at J.R. Mooney Gallery-Boerne with fellow artist Sidney Sinclair. "Empty Nest" is one of the signature pieces of the "Dichotomies" exhibition that highlights Scheidt's abilities in capturing the presence and beauty of animals in their natural surroundings in oil paint on canvas. Portrayed in fantastic detail are a pair of burrowing owls that are in their element upon the plain, enjoying the vastness after being cooped up in their underground denizen. Hanging next to this piece in the exhibition is the stunning "Pheasant Fields" which features a pair of pheasants, accentuating Scheidt's unmistakable eye in capturing and observing detail, ‌...cont’d on next page Reviews/ Commentary/ Exhibitions/ News/ Events, April 2015,
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from the teal iridescence on the male pheasant's plumage to the female's delicate feather striations; this pair stands in unity against a backdrop of windswept grassy fields. In "Harem Master", the main focal point, bathed in Aurelian light, is a majestic antlered buck ruling over his "harem". A group of females are in cool shadow in the distance, creating dramatic contrast; a dichotomy of polarities: male, female; warm, cool; singular, multiple. Another example of Scheidt's immense capacity for painting nature is "Block Creek Bluff," an ode to the wilderness as a lone raptor soars over a rocky cliff side that is nestled amid brilliant gold treetops: a testament to the magnificent independence and strength of this solitary creature in his quest for survival amid uncertain terrain. Scheidt's passion and commitment to the preservation of nature go beyond the subject matter of his art; he is an active member of Artists for Conservation, a worldwide artist advocacy organization that contributes percentages of their artwork sales to environmental causes of the artists' choice. Scheidt's favorite conservation organization is the local Boerne Cibolo Nature Center, a conservancy initiative that protects the fragile Cibolo Creek Watershed located in the Texas hill country. This watershed ranges from north Boerne and continues south for 96 miles until it joins the San Antonio River, recharging the Edwards and Trinity Aquifers along its way and is home to many sensitive and threatened species like the Guadalupe Bass and the golden-cheeked warbler. He exhibits regularly with the Artists for Conservation along with 500 other signature members, whose art exhibits promote environmental stewardship and protecting our natural habitats.
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For Scheidt, the inspiration to create may come from a certain light condition or an experience that will evolve itself from rough pencil sketches to fully finished oil painting. When asked what sort of response he would like his art to evoke in his viewers, he replies," I would like something in my art to move them.� Ever humble, he elaborates on the foundational belief in being an instrument of the Creator, the source that truly guides his art. "It's not just me doing the work‌it's the guy upstairs that's working through my hand, which makes it what it is; maybe people see that." Š Katherine Shevchenko, Art Consultant
FRAM
MING
Framing of the Month Framing of the Month
Society Pages
‘Sip & Sign’
with Thomas Arvid Photography courtesy of : Valarie McCown & J.R. Mooney Galleries
Recap with Wrap Wrap–– Up event pictures March 13 13–– 14, 2015, J.R. Mooney Galleries Galleries–– Boerne. TX.
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