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First Friday: sheep, history...
Published May 29, 2006
As usual, First Friday Art Walk galleries of the HeART of Del Rio Association boast a fine diversity of media and subjects this week.
Though only three (of six) galleries have reported new exhibitions for June showings, the participating trio will open as usual Friday night at 7 p.m. with refreshments and art never seen before in Del Rio.
One exhibition, Jerry Stone’s fine oil paintings will remain on display at Café Centrale, and co-owner/manager Steve Flores says the eatery will welcome guests and proudly show off the casual gallery space at the rear of the restaurant.
Lee-Bunch Studio Gallery, 100 W. Greenwood St., introduces another San Angelo artist to Del Rio art lovers. Raul Ruiz, sculptor, will exhibit three bronzes, five oil paintings, four limited edition prints, and two original pencil drawings.
Ruiz’s works all center around the historic sheep ranching tradition of west central Texas, stemming from his childhood, growing up in a family of expert shearers.
According to gallery owner/manager Pam Bunch, Ruiz sheared when he was a boy, disliked the heat, dirt and danger of the work, but tremendously admired the men of his family that did it.
“When he was young, he’d tire of shearing, and he’d go off with a little pad of paper and a pencil, and start drawing,” Bunch said Sunday. “Then his dad would find him, and say, ‘You’ll never make a living doing that. You’ve got to get back to work now,’” Bunch chuckled.
The centerpiece of Ruiz’s show at Pam Bunch’s richly decorated gallery is “El Trasquilador,” a large bronze of a shearer and his big Rambouillet sheep. With the sheep’s tied feet in the air, the shearer bends to the task of removing the summer’s fleece.
Other works by Ruiz are portraits of the famed French sheep, extracted in the 18th century from Spanish Merino stock, accenting their long, broad snouts and gracefully curving horns.
Richard Ruiz, Raul’s brother, is a special feature Friday night at the Ruiz show, a dimension not seen before at First Friday Art Walks. Richard is still a professional shearer, and, with a complete fleece and his clippers on hand, he will answer questions about the trade.
Art walkers will have a first-hand exposure to the slick lanolin texture, weight and odor of a fleece, see the tools of the tradesman, and learn from a man whose family fairly symbolizes much of the agricultural history of Del Rio and this entire region.
In addition, Lloyd Goldwire, owner manager of the Sanderson, Texas foundry that casts and builds Ruiz’s work will be on hand. Bunch promised that Goldwire, too, will be available to describe this demanding, intricate process and answer questions.
“El Trasquilador,” one casting in a limited edition of 35, will be on display at Lee-Bunch Studio Gallery until June 15, after which it will resume a tour of galleries and studios across the state.
Casa De La Cultura gallery, 302 W. Cantu St., on Brown Plaza in San Felipe community, exhibits another dimension of local history, less artistic and more documentary in nature, but no less important and interesting.
“The People of the Revolution,” a collection of 43 photographs from the West Texas Collection of Angelo State University, reveals the expressive faces, dress, and genre scenes of the thirty-year revolutionary period (1910-1940).
According to Preston Lewis, Angelo State’s director of news and publications, “The images in the exhibit capture the spirit of the people of the Revolution and of life along the border during turbulent times.”
Casa De La Cultura Director Maria Sorola said Saturday that her organization’s accompaniment to First Friday Art Walk, “Noches Musicales,” will feature its first concert of the season this week.
During the exhibition indoors, guest artists “Grupo Tayer,” a six-member string, percussion, accordion and saxophone assembly of traditional Mexican musicians, will perform in the Brown Plaza bandstand.
Sorola said the group will perform corridos (musical stories of legendary figures), but the performers are also known for polkas and folk dances when appearing with other performers. They are also acclaimed for using pure, acoustic instrumentation.
Del Rio Council for the Arts’ Firehouse Gallery, 120 E. Garfield Avenue, features the large, abstract paintings on birchwood panels by Joseph Cohen, Barker, Texas.
Gallery assistant Krystle Moore describes Cohen’s work as “really beautiful, totally abstract, with lots of bright colors, shiny paint and glittery glow, with swirls of paint, carved to reveal layers below.”
Cohen’s artist’s statement explains that he uses his own paint chemistry: “I mix raw powder pigment with resin, epoxy, and/or polymer emulsion to attaint paints with unique properties and characteristics.”
Moore said Sunday that about 20 of Cohen’s works will be displayed through June.
HeART of Del Rio galleries open their doors 7-9 p.m. the first Friday of each month for exhibitions of art, refreshments and socializing of art patrons, new and experienced.
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