The elements, clouds, Superman, and the Mexican-American experience are the themes of San Antonio exhibits this April. Discover Puerto Rican artist Raul Rivera in his first solo show at Un Grito Gallery; David Alcantar explores the iconography of Superman at Mercury Project; and Joe Lopez embraces people whose lives are not often in mainstream cultural representation in his show, “Moments.” The arts are spirited in San Antonio this month and ready for exploring.
Un Grito Gallery
“Raul Rivera: Contemplation | Contemplaciones” — April 6 through 20
In this exhibition of acrylic monotypes from Puerto Rico-born, San Antonio-based artist Raul Rivera, his work, often influenced by the landscapes of the Caribbean where he grew up, “responds to the need to dismantle the reality that we observe and highlight the relationship that exists between the elements that forms it.” This is Rivera’s first solo show.
Centro Cultural Aztlan
“Joe Lopez: Momentos en Tiempo/Moments” — April 6 through 27
Joe Lopez, a San Antonio native, captures in this exhibit the everyday lived experiences, identities, relationships, spiritual life, and hard work of people whose lives are not often in mainstream cultural representation. “Although we were looked down on, we were extremely proud of who we were…Mexicanos Americanos/Chicanos. I hope they can see their experiences reflected in my paintings,“ says Lopez in an artist statement.
Ruby City
“Amy Cutler: Past, Present, Progress” — April 6 through February 25, 2024
At the center of this exhibition is surrealist artist Amy Cutler’s interactive, multi-media installation Fossa (2015). Cutler is known for her finely detailed paintings, drawings, and prints of women working at domestic or mysterious tasks in intimate, magical settings, and Fossa creates the experience of walking into one of her works. Also included in the exhibition will be Cutler’s large drawing of the same name, acquired by Ruby City earlier this year, along with a selection of loaned works from two other series. For over two decades, Cutler has created beguiling images that only hint at unknown and open-ended stories, inviting endless interpretations.
Mercury Project
“David Alcantar: The Superman Project "— April 7 through 30
Texas artist David Alcantar’s exhibition is a partial culmination of his research about how societal negotiations surrounding power have defined American heroism, and vice-versa. The iconography of Superman and his association to “Truth, Justice, and the American Way,” is used as a touchstone to investigate how we negotiate and reconcile our desire for salvation and heroism with our flaws and mortality. The project highlights questions about America’s identity, political power, military policy, immigration policy, and its supposed constitution to moral righteousness, to name a few.
Ruiz-Healy Art
“Nate Cassie: A Knife Out Of A Cloud” — April 12 through May 27
The exhibition features ceramics, prints, paintings, and video installation to examine a mixture of rousing and frightening feelings, along with the ever-present sense that one never knows what the future holds for them. Nate Cassie presents an array of objects evoking sentiments of transformation and change. In his body of work, cloud imagery is a hallmark that best captures these concepts. In the artist’s words, “They signify transition, clouds moving across the sky. Depending on what they look like, it is a sign of change in the weather. I feel that analogy applies to contemporary life, our current moment.”
Clamp Light Studios
“Narratives at Play” — April 14 through May 6
“Narratives at Play” features new and recent artworks by three Texas-based artists: Vincent Fink, Stephanie Gonzalez, and Calvin Pressley. Through surrealist imagery and abstraction, there is a sense of human nature and the connection to the natural and subconscious world pervading through each of the artists’ works. Whether it be through an intuitive process or mathematical planning, there is an essence of play and exploration inviting viewers to re-interpret the works with their own sense of curiosity.
The Carver Cultural Community Center
Courtesy the Carver Cultural Center
Find words by Akaimi Davis and Kwanzaa Edwards at the Carver Cultural Center this month.
“Akaimi Davis & Kwanzaa Edwards” — April 20 through May 26
Akaimi Davis and Kwanzaa Edwards display two distinct aesthetics in their work, but both draw inspiration from their personal life to inspire others through their histories and artistry. Davis is known for her bold, graphic lines and strong imagery while Edwards blends personal history with fantasy to create a romanticized understanding and appreciation of all life holds.
