If you are seeking freedom from the routine, then San Antonio’s art scene offers many diversions and discoveries in July. Artist Jose Villalobos dives into trucking subculture and deconstructs the notion of masculinity within it at FL!GHT Gallery. Guadalupe Hernandez weaves family stories connecting his past into his figurative oil paintings at Presa House. Delight in abstract works made of crayon, fabric, sand, crushed stone, and glass beads at Ruiz-Healy Art and discover the whimsy of “Wonderful Old Women” as life-size oil paintings from artist Gabbe Grodin and her students at Bihl Haus Arts. Keep the heat at bay and let the arts invigorate and refresh you this month.
FL!GHT Gallery at Blue Star
“Jose Villalobos: Trokiando” — Now through July 31
“Trokiando” is a new body of work that examines toxic masculinity within truck culture among the Latinx community. Car culture has played a role in the lives of the Mexican-American community since the 1940’s when the lowrider culture emerged. Through time a new subculture was born known as Trokiando, a derivative of the word Troka, a spanglish term created to describe a truck. Through the artist’s personal connection to his father, who was an auto mechanic, Villalobos dives into the car subculture and deconstructs the notion of masculinity within it. Using automotive parts and accessories he creates a dialogue of how an object can generate a dynamic of power, masculinity and homophobia.
Presa House
“Guadalupe Hernandez: Recuerdos Vividos” — Now through July 29
Guadalupe Hernandez is a Houston-based multidisciplinary artist who despite moving to the United States, maintained a deep connection to his Mexican heritage and customs through time-honored familial traditions. Hernandez’s practice examines his cultural identity by reinterpreting childhood memories and family stories connecting his past and offering greater meaning to his present. Through the use of photographic references accumulated over several years, retracing the markets, street scenes, and people of his homeland Hernandez creates elaborate Papel Picado portraits and figurative oil paintings with gestural brushwork.
Ruiz-Healy Art
“Gaby Collins Fernandez & Carlos Rosales-Silva: Applied Pressure” — Now through August 20
“Applied Pressure” is a two-person solo exhibition featuring artists that intersect in their experimental uses of color and texture to create abstract works that manipulate images. Collins-Fernandez presents a series of paintings and works on paper using materials such as crayon, digital photo collage, and fabric. Rosales-Silva’s works are grounded in a practice of painting but often borrow from sculptural and installation practices through materials like sand, crushed stone, and glass beads.
Prudencia
“Stefani Job Spears & Joseph Hammer: Reflections on Nature/Reflections on Humanity” — Now through July 30
The two artists featured in this show seem at first glance to be polar opposites; they work in different media and have very different styles. But on a closer look, it becomes apparent that the artists are on parallel paths in reflecting nature and humanity in their work. Stefani Job Spears, a teacher, innovator, and artist-in-residence at the Texas Commission for the Arts, uses different media, including handmade paper and pastels, to reflect her love of nature. Joseph Hammer has always worked in the medium of collage, and "found his voice" when he began using old hardback books in his works.
Bihl Haus Arts
“Gabbe Grodin: WOW: Wonderful Old Women” — Now through July 30
“WOW” is a show by long-time GO! Arts senior center instructor Gabbe Grodin. This project is inspired by a book called “Wonderful Old Women,” a series of interviews conducted by Bonnie Lyons, whereby thirteen women, ages 80 to 97, tell their stories, reflecting on how they see themselves and their life’s journey. In this visual version, Grodin shares 58 portraits on a single canvas and fourteen life-size oil paintings of her students showing us their paintings. Paintings and drawings from Grodin’s students will also share the limelight in this exhibit.
Rojo Gallery and Studio
“Mo[u]ld: A Print Group Show” — Now through August 13
What started as a portfolio exchange project between 19 local artists turned into an exhibition for all to experience. Mo[u]ld is an exhibition of printmaking centered on a singular word with varied interpretations. Each artist worked from within their own perspective and practice to create a work with Mo[u]ld in mind. The word can relate to many ideas: monotony, time, nature, rot, decay, death, sculpture, formation, replication, and mimicry, to name a few. With this thematic tie, the prints exist tangentially, creating a dialogue with each other and with their audience.
Carver Community Cultural Center
“San Antonio Street Art Initiative” — July 21 through September 1
SASAI is an artist-run, independent, non-profit charity and the source for mural art and artist advocacy with over 60 murals completed in the San Antonio area in the past few years. Composed of leaders within the city’s diverse street art scene, the exhibit will include works reflecting the diversity of the individual artists and the city.
'WOW: Wonderful Old Women’ is a Bihl Haus Arts gallery exhibition by long-time GO! Arts senior center instructor Gabbe Grodin.
