College puts spotlight on artistry of local, self-taught octogenarian

“Montañas Rojas,” (Red Mountains) an oil on canvas painting by Pedro Reynoso

South Texas College’s Nursing and Allied Health Campus Library Art Gallery is proud to present “Dreamlands of Pedro Reynoso” featuring a collection of acrylic and oil on canvas paintings by self-taught artist, Pedro Reynoso. The exhibit opens Friday, May 8 at STC’s Nursing and Allied Health Campus Library Art Gallery with an Art Talk at 1 p.m. given by Jennifer Cahn, Curator at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art. An opening reception will immediately follow from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The exhibit runs through July 3, 2009. STC’s Nursing and Allied Health Campus Library Art Gallery is located at 1101 E. Vermont Ave. in McAllen. Admission is free and open to the public.Currently 87 years old, Reynoso took up painting at the age of 65 after his diagnosis with cancer and later Alzheimer’s disease.

“Reynoso relies on his vivid imagination and a fluid, sensitive use of color,” said Cahn. “Most of the scenes in the exhibition are drawn from the artist’s youthful memories of Mexico, from which he creates vibrant landscapes expressing a sophisticated eye and a tender nostalgia for his birthplace.”

“The exhibit is a multi-tasking force helping us all see that creativity is a vital force of self-expression, positive memory experience and also an incentive for capturing a sense of therapy and healing,” said David Freeman, curator and programs coordinator for STC’s Library Art Gallery Program. “Reynoso is a self taught artist yet his vision is incredibly astute and rich in an astonishing parallel with many of the mainstream styles and genres of art of the 20th century. There is evidence of a common intuitive phenomenon within the technique, process and creative effort of Reynoso’s work and our cultural artistic art world of today.

“His work reflects the look of surrealism, impressionism and expressionism even though he knows nothing of these movements,” continued Freeman. “There is a vast wealth of understanding color, texture and form that mirrors and defines his emotional feelings of the day and reflects the landscapes of childhood and his present day experience. He expresses in his work that he is in control and alive, and creating in an almost defiant manner in resistance to challenges that he faces. It is stated that wherever there is creativity there is God; Reynosa lets us see that where there is creativity there is also faith that art can heal.”

South Texas College’s Library Art Gallery Program exhibits regional, national and international artwork, explores new visions and theories of creativity, and introduces innovative artistic expressions to the South Texas region.

The event was organized by the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art.

For more information call 872-3488.