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Texas Contemporary Artists Series Texas is fast becoming one of the most progressive and exciting art scenes on the horizon. The Texas Contemporary Artists Series exhibitions showcase the talents of some of Texas’ premier artists. In keeping with Institute of Texan Cultures' mission of engaging the “understanding and celebration of Texas’ cultural heritage," I chose to focus on the work of contemporary artists who call Texas home. The selected artists cover a broad spectrum of artistic styles and mediums. Common to all of their work, however, is the bold vision and unbridled exuberance that is the quintessence of Texan culture.
--Arturo Almeida Leigh Anne Lester The second installment of the Texas Contemporary Artists Series at the Institute of Texan Cultures features the work of Leigh Anne Lester, addressing the place between the genesis of genetic modification and its aftereffects. Genetic modification offers humans the means to change the composition of species from the microscopic level to the macroscopic system. Lester wants the viewer to consider all the possible outcomes of introducing new species, from upsetting the natural balance, to successfully creating new species. Lester's drawings are composed of multiple layers of semi-transparent Mylar with a historical botanical drawn or cut on each layer. Sculpturally, Lester presents Johnson Grass created from hand-sewn clear plastic vinyl. Displayed in three islands, the arrangement implies the propagation of an invasive species. Originally from Shreveport, La., Lester moved to San Antonio in 1989 and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from University of Texas at San Antonio in 1993.
Luis Valderas Born and raised deep in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, Luis Valderas is a prolific native son whose work frequently includes references to both modern and ancient cultural roots. In his ever-growing and evolving body of work, Valderas creates contemporary narratives, inimitably expressed through a filter of Meso-American myth and iconography, that chronicle the Chicano experience on the borderlands and beyond. This exhibit features 12 Valderas pieces, including El Sur Pacific—1945, an inlaid woodcut inspired by the stories his father told Valderas as a child about his experience serving in the South Pacific in World War II. Coming Up: Carmen Oliver: February – April 2010
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