An exhibit at the Carver Cultural Center features works by Roberto Jose Gonzalez, who cites a less-than-common muse for his new exhibit: A rain god.
"The exhibit is entitled Atl" Gonzalez said. "Atl is one of the rain gods, one of the rain deities in Mexico. This exhibition is devoted to creating works that are my vision, my interpretation of that particular rain God."
San Antonian Gonzalez is originally from Laredo, but traces his family tree much farther back.
"We have roots going way back through Mejico, but mostly if you look at my grandparents they’re mostly Indio," he said.
Gonzalez's family tree is his muse and its roots run deep-- thousands of years ago in native Mexico. Gonzalez said the rain deities that his works honor are still celebrated in towns all across the country. He added that his artistic process is, in a sense, a very meditative one.
"Our ancestors are still with us, it’s just a matter of touching into that jet stream that they still exist in," he said.
His atypical creation process has yielded big, bold, colorful pieces that make up the collection at the Carver. Marketing and Communications Manager Teresa Vasquez-Romero described them:
"Some of the paintings are small, some are very large," she said. "Rich colors, a lot of different geometric figures."
Gonzalez’s exhibit opens Thursday night, and as Vazquez-Romero notes, a special event is planned.
"Thursday’s event is a reception where visitors can actually meet the artist.," she said.
Roberto Jose Gonzalez is also performance artist and musician, and the music for this report was created by him as well. It's available on iTunes under the name Xivero.
- Learn more about Gonzales at: www.robertojosegonzalez.com
- More about the Carver at: www.thecarver.org
