Be one of the first to preview artwork by international artists premiering at Las Artistas in November.
This sneak preview of works include paintings, prints, ceramics, glass, jewelry and wearable art and will be on display in the Circa 163 room at Hotel Indigo on Friday, November 17 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. In it’s 47th year Las Artistas is striving to foster a relationship with the public and will have artists on hand to meet and greet guests and answer questions about the upcoming show.
The preview is $15 and includes one-all day ticket to Las Artistas at Epic Railyard, an opportunity to enjoy light appetizers and appreciate the El Paso sunset and surrounding mountains.
Founded in 1970, Las Artistas has grown from a small group of enterprising El Paso female artists seeking a venue for their work, to one of the premiere arts organizations in El Paso and Southern New Mexico. The Las Artistas Art & Fine Crafts Show is sponsored by Ruhmann Law, with support from the City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department.
Las Artistas Preview Party is sponsored by artist Margie Melby
Taking the art world by storm, an emerging artist creates bold, colorful murals diverging from traditional southwest style. Her paint brushes have graced walls across the world including Mexico, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and others. Identifying as a nature worshipper, Celeste Byers’ artwork largely centers around the metaphysical, while encompassing humanitarian and environmental issues.
Byer’s illustration for The New York Times Op-Ed, Beware of Cold-Blooded Americans
“[My artwork] is the one thing I’ve felt passionate about my entire life,” said 28-year-old Byers. “I am trying to communicate through my art that there is magic beyond what I can see.”
Born and raised in San Diego, CA, Byers is not the typical “starving artist”. Graduating with a BFA from Art Center College of Design in 2012, she jumped straight into the art world. Almost immediately, she was hired by a major news publication. “I was pretty lucky and one of my first jobs out of college was working for the New York Times doing illustrations for the Op-Ed section!” Byers said.
Wonder Woman, Acrylic and spray paint on canvas, 8′ x 8′
But Byers’ murals are what brought her international attention. Her unique usage of bold color schemes in combination with detail didn’t go unnoticed. For Wonder Woman’s 75th anniversary, Warner Bros. asked Byers to design a mural of the superhero at Comic-Con 2016.
“Her use of vibrant and rich colors is unlike I’ve seen before,” said Rocio Salinas Almeida, a graphic designer and El Paso local.
Her most recent work, Nopales in Love, a mural featuring two cacti kissing, is located at the SANDI Apartment Complex in El Paso, TX. This work highlights her creative process.
“I always try to make my subject matter relevant to the location I’m painting,” Byers said. “The idea for that mural [Nopales in Love] took a few hours to come up with. First I wanted to paint straight up portraits, then I got the idea to paint cactus people portraits, then that evolved to wanting to make the cactus people kissing.”
A “sketch” of Nopales In Love
Nopales in Love centers around the love found in nature. “[Nopales in Love] is about everything and everyone,” Byers said. “All people, all animals have this need to find love. So I made the cacti into people, expressing everything’s need to reproduce.”
Her artwork begins with a “sketch” which usually incorporates Photoshop. “I use these ‘sketches’ to paint from as well as show my client so they can understand my idea,” Byers said. After the sketch is completed, Byers prepares and then begins to paint.
“I’ve recently enjoyed spending around 10 days at a mural location and working on the wall,” Byers said. “Before that, I was usually painting murals in about 5 days but I was always getting sick after painting for 12-14 hours a day every day. I realized I can enjoy the location and have better health if I give myself more time to finish and paint for less time every day.”
Byers standing in front of Nopales in Love
Byers’ murals can take anywhere from a few hours to several weeks to complete. Nopales in Love took her eight days to finish.
But Byers doesn’t always like to take her time with her work. “I like to make artwork about things I think are important,” Byers said.
At Neon Desert Music Festival 2017, photo courtesy of Byers
Her partnership with PangeaSeed Foundation has been one such avenue. PangeaSeed is an international non-profit organization which seeks to create environmental change for oceans through “ARTivism,” education and science.
“I think the conservation of nature is extremely important in our day in age,” Byers said. “[Working with PangeaSeed] has taught me that art is a powerful medium for communicating ideas about activism and social commentary.”
In May, Byers live-painted a mural seeking to highlight glamorized drug usage and its environmental damage at Neon Desert Music Festival in El Paso, TX.
“I included a parrot skull in my mural because… although the aerial fumigation programs are targeted at killing coca plants, they end up wiping out vast amounts of rainforest and the plants and animals that live within them,” Byers said. “The ribcage and human skeleton hand serve as a reminder of the people who have lost their lives in this violent industry.”
Check out Celeste Byers’ website for more information and to see her work!
Longtime friends and artists Miguel Bonilla and Jason Lucero premiere a collaborative collection of contemporary works in May. This series, Gum on our Shoes: A Long Sticky Trail to Here and Now remixes previous works with a mature and seasoned twist.
The title of this exhibit highlights Bonilla and Lucero’s path towards maturity in both self-development and art. “Accidentally stepping in gum and then the weaving trail created when trying to get away from it just seemed like the best way to convey our experience together… sort of like two shoes that stepped in the same gum, they start from the same place but go elsewhere, but also parallel-ish after that,” said Bonilla.
The two artists first met as opponents on the soccer field in the 90s. Now, more than 20 years later, they have become an artistic dynamic duo. Their personal trails have carried them from painting murals and backdrops in their 20s, to working with acrylic, oil, charcoal, pen, and printmaking.
“There are some works of art that you see in life, but you don’t quite connect—Bonilla and Lucero’s works create a sense of curiosity that has the viewer almost entranced in the works trying to define a story, whether it be their own or of the artists,” said The Art Avenue Gallery owner, Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek.
Dismantling previous works for Gum on our Shoes: A Long Sticky Trail to Here and Now, they have created new pieces with a mature twist. “It is like I am collaborating with my younger self and correcting mistakes I might have made and/or filling in some gaps I could not see in the past. The work is becoming the medium, that’s kind of cliche, but rather than making brush strokes, I am choosing to rip up printed paper and adhere it to existing paintings,” said Lucero.
Gum on our Shoes: A Long Sticky Trail to Here and Now will be on display throughout May.
The Art Avenue Gallery hours are Tues., Thurs. & Fri. 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Wed. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m. — 2 p.m. and Mon. by appointment only, at 1618 Texas Ave. Suite E. For additional information or questions, please email info@theartave.com or call 915.213.4318.
Photographer and web designer Brian Wancho premiers his photographic collection LUX at The Art Avenue Gallery on Thursday, March 9. Wancho’s exhibition features iconic buildings and cityscapes throughout the Borderplex.
“His iconic images and use of light make a statement and beautifully represent our region,” said Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek, owner of The Art Avenue Gallery.
Wancho derives the inspiration for his collection from the French word “Lux”. It means the “amount of light that falls on a surface”. Capitalizing on illumination through natural light, Wancho uses software to accentuate his digital images. “Programs like Photoshop allow the photographer to develop and enhance the photo so that it represents their creative intent,” said Wancho. “In that respect, it is an invaluable tool.”
His love for photography began at a young age. “I remember getting a Kodak 110 film camera as a kid and taking it with me everywhere,” Wancho said.
Now, as CEO of an El Paso web design company, Stanton Street, Wancho admits it is through this business he fine-tuned his love of photography. “My interest in photography stayed dormant until I took a job that included creating content for websites,” Wancho said. Since then, he has graduated to a Nikon D800E DSLR and a PhaseOne medium format camera.
LUX will be on display throughout April.
The Art Avenue Gallery hours are Tues., Thurs. & Fri. 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Wed. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m. — 2 p.m. and Mon. by appointment only, at 1618 Texas Ave. Suite E. For additional information or questions, please email info@theartave.com or call 915.213.4318.
