by David Barnes
Daily Lobo
Hundreds of works of art will be displayed at the Albuquerque Museum's miniature exhibition and fund-raiser.
Elias Rivera, who was born in New York before moving to Santa Fe in the early 1980s, has become internationally known for his figurative paintings.
Although Abstract Expressionist painters such as Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock were the dominant force in American art when Rivera was beginning to paint, Rivera said he never considered abandoning the figurative style even if it wasn't fashionable at the time.
Rivera said he knew he wanted to be an artist since he was a child.
"I got sick when I was 8 years old and had to stay in bed, so my mom gave me some clay," he said. "I started to make these figures and I knew on a certain level my destiny right there."
Rivera said his childhood in New York played a major role in the direction of his work.
"The beautiful thing about growing up in New York at that time was that the city wasn't slick the way it is now," he said. "It was made up of all these funky neighborhoods with really distinct smells, and it was a city that really, really fed me creatively."
Rivera is contributing three pieces for this year's show.
Like Rivera, the Taos-based painter Ed Sandoval has found inspiration in the beauty of the rural life of northern New Mexico. After earning his bachelor's degree in fine arts from Eastern New Mexico University and a master's degree in psychology from the University of Utah, Sandoval worked as an art teacher and a carpenter before painting full time.
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Sandoval said it is the spirituality of New Mexico that is his primary inspiration.
"I wanted to paint what I saw growing up," Sandoval said. "I've tried to paint the simple life of New Mexico. There is such a strong sense of culture there."
Sandoval credits Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas and Vincent Van Gogh as painters whose work has helped him develop his style. Sandoval said the paintings he is contributing to Miniatures 2005 are reflective of a growing self-confidence.
"I think they are more sophisticated and technical, and that my colors have become richer and stronger," Sandoval said.
Curator Betty Sabo first suggested the idea to the museum's board and has been the show's sole curator since 1990. Sabo said one of her goals for the Miniatures exhibition was to help talented local artists find a place where they could sell their work.
"We wanted to have a show that included New Mexico artists and other fine artists from around the country," Sabo said. "It was important to keep the quality of the work very high and we've done that. The show has been extremely well received."
Sabo said her decision to feature small works was taken to help make buying art easier for members of the community who may be making their first purchase.
"There is that aura about buying art that it is exclusive and snobbish and we wanted to make this accessible and acceptable for the average person," Sabo said.
