If you want to catch up with Gennaro Garcia sometime this fall, you'll want to take a look at his calendar. The local artist has seven gallery exhibitions opening before the end of the year, a few ideas in the works for the Calle 16 mural project, and his current project -- a massive, collaborative mural he's donating to a public school in South Phoenix.
Garcia's collection will be comprised of more than 30 pieces of his work that focuses on Hispanic iconography, including angels and Mexican calaveras, and modern, colorful portraits of beautiful women.
The local artist says he's attempting to create a space he hopes makes people feel like they're entering a sacred temple.
"The idea is that the paintings will grant you serenity," he says. "I want to give off that sensation of when you walk into a church."
Inspired by religion and the world around him, the artwork will include paintings of photographs taken during his travels to Africa, Latin America, and Europe, where he found the inspiration for one of his favorite pieces in the exhibition.
"I saw this painting from the sixteenth century in London's National Gallery," says Garcia. "And I thought it had a lot say."
An 8-foot by 7-foot painting (pictured above) shows an old angel peeling back a veil from a beautiful woman in a colorful robe as she takes a mask off of another woman who is trying to hide her own face. Garcia says it took him more than three months to finish.
exhibition's opening will be held on October 6, and Garcia will be painting on the exhibition floor and inviting young people who attend to join him.
"I want them to feel what it's like to be a working artist in a gallery," he says.
Garcia will be repeating this activity every Thursday while his exhibition is still on display.
The opening reception for Entre El Cielo Y La Tierra II is at 7 p.m. on October 6 at the Charles Calving Gallery in Scottsdale. The exhibition is free and open to the public, and will be on display until November 7.
For more information visit the event page.
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