Qué Hermoso!, a special exhibition has been extended until May 31 at the Special Exhibitions Gallery of the Center for the Arts due to its popularity. This unique exhibit features deeply moving images that celebrate Latino cultural identity and traditions. Spanning painting, drawing, printmaking, mixed media, and photography, this vibrant exhibition highlights histories, familism, forgotten histories, and rich personal and collective experiences.
The exhibit features art by Marco Albarrán, Emily Costello, José Andres Giron, Noemí Alejandra Gonzalez, Gretchen Lopez, Gabriela Muñoz, Alejandro Soria, and Teresa Villegas and is sponsored by Isabel & David Simmer and the AZ Humanities Council.
Marco Albarran is a Phoenix area-based conceptual-multimedia artist whose interpretations highlight thematic-symbolic representations of pre- and post-Columbian cultures, life, and histories.
Emily Costello is a self-taught painter, printmaker, and mixed media artist. Her art is inspired by her Mexican heritage, her cultural icons, images, and the events that have shaped her life. Her art is heavily influenced by her grandmother and the stories she passed on to her; stories that not only give place and meaning to our existence but also to the experiences that we all share; themes of identity, humor, life, love, death, spirituality, dreams and memories.
José Andrés Girón has been dedicated to art all his life. Family and culture have influenced his choice of subject matter in deciding what is important to express in his art. His work almost always represents the positive and beautiful things of the Hispanic/Latino culture. Andrés, as he likes to call himself, was born in Phoenix and lived next to the airport near the Golden Gate neighborhood.
Noemí Alejandra González is a first generation Xicánita storyteller. She works in Mexico and the Southwestern United States focusing on personal identity narratives and social justice narratives. She really likes clouds and finding faces in the mountains.
Gretchen Lopez is inspired not only by her love of painting, but also by her ethnic heritage, teaching, and the world around her. After majoring in advertising and design, she studied fashion illustration at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles and later completed her studies at The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
Gabriela Muñoz is an artist whose work is rooted in her experiences as a migrant who lived in Arizona, undocumented, for over a decade. A Latinx woman living in the Southwest, her practice is linked to the social justice and racial equality movements. Her installations, print works, and her collaborations function as a growing archive documenting accounts and stories of people from under-resourced and underappreciated communities.
A Mexican-born visual artist, Alejandro Soria studied graphic design and graduated from the University of Monterrey before earning a master’s degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. In 2001, successful brain surgery gave Alejandro a second chance at life, which ultimately led him to take up painting.
Teresa Villegas is a visual artist, painter, engraver, illustrator and UI/UX graphic designer, whose skills are multidisciplinary. Her work has been seen in galleries and museums in Mexico and the United States. Best known publicly for her paintings, such as her installation called “La Loteria: An Exploration of Mexico” and her “Light, Love, Life” public art terrazzo floor design at Terminal 3 at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Villegas , however, feels: “The world is what you make it, it is about creating and connecting, it is about the natural world and people, intentions and actions founded on well-being and universal love.”
Sedona Arts Center is one of Northern Arizona’s most established cultural organizations and serves as the creative heart of Sedona. Our mission is to connect, enrich, educate, and lead through the inspiring power of the arts and creative discovery. Founded in 1958, the nonprofit organization is based in Uptown Sedona and offers classes, exhibits, festivals and cultural events throughout the year that enhance the creative life of Verde Valley.
Sedona Arts Center is a 501(c)3 organization offering all purchases without sales tax (a savings of nearly 10%). Visit SedonaArtsCenter.org to learn more about one of Sedona’s oldest non-profit community organizations.
