Tina Fuentes
Lugares y Espacios - 2007 EXHIBITION
Click here to download portfolio (PDF)
 
Cara con Rayas - 2007 - Mixed media on board - 36x36 inches. . . Corazon con Rayas- 2007 - Mixed media on board - 36x36 inches.
 
Fruta de la Vida - 2007 - Mixed media on board - 36x36 inches. . .Fruta y Fruta - 2007 - Mixed media on board - 36x36 inches.
 
La Puerta Azul - 2007 - Mixed media on board - 60x48 inches. Rayas - 2007 - Mixed media on board - 60x48 inches.
 
 
Lugarcito I - IV - 2006 - Mixed media on board - 12x12 inches.
TINA
FUENTES
ARTIST STATEMENT
For thirty years now I have realized my art in drawings, paintings and prints and have found the exploration of the various techniques to be rewarding. Beyond the advancement of my technical skills, I have been rewarded by seeing my inner thoughts and energies come to fruition in two-dimensional form.
Throughout my artistic explorations, I have consistently used the human form. The figures have gone through several transformations. They have been literally stated; they have been hidden in shadows. At times, they have been defined by delicate sensuous, linear qualities that intrigue the viewer. At other times, the figures have taken on more ominous qualities, becoming dark, foreboding, and mysterious forms. Within the 1990’s, another transformation occurred in my exploration of the human form. My exploration turned to an examination of the female form in connection to the symbol of the “cross.” The “Female & Cross” metaphor surfaced in my art as a metaphor for the feminine strength and power. In order to facilitate my exploration of the theme, I constructed an eight-foot cross and used it in conjunction with a live model. Revealed in three dimensions, the model and cross helped me to realize the potential for reinterpretation of a symbol traditionally lined to a male figure.
As part of this ongoing development of the theme, I investigated the metaphor outside of the confines of my studio. Upon traveling to Highland Chiapas to the city of San Cristobal de las Casas I visited the villages of Chamula and Romerillo to view their mountain crosses. These immense crosses are viewed to be manifestations of both god and creator ancestors. At times they are being either or both genders. My goal was to travel as both an artist and observer -- to explore and to try to understand the fusion of ancestor, god, man and woman that these crosses represent to the Maya. With the notes, drawings and photos from the trip’s, consolidated and studied, I continued to work on the cross image with what I believe has been an even fuller sense of its potential meaning.
As the work has evolved, I have had the opportunity to expand my research beyond the two-dimensional format. In 1998-99 I was able to expand my studio medium into the word of film via computer. Introduction and involvement of this technology has begun to provide a viable dialogue for my images. Thus, a reshaping of the visual growth continues to unfold.
Over the past couple of years, my works have embraced and integrated illusions of space inspired by land/space that exists here in the South Plains of West Texas. These artistic engagements with issues of geographical/atmospheric phenomena have led to a broadening interest in the vastness of the arid spaces of the desert corridor that extends beyond the boundaries of West Texas. These explorations will be taking me to the Mexican Chihuahua Desert and the Sierra Madre Occidental. My journey will continue onto the Sonora Desert in the Tucson, Arizona region. Taking my drawing tools, camera and movie projector to these locations to document the spaces, will enable me to return to my studio with ideas and images that will filter into the work produced.
Born in 1949 in San Angelo, Texas
and reared in Odessa, Texas, Tina Fuentes earned B.F.A. and M.F.A.
degrees at University of North Texas in Denton, Texas where she
trained in painting, drawing, and printmaking. Much of her teaching
experience has been teaching art within the Texas public schools,
Waco Art Center, University of Albuquerque, and the University of
New Mexico. Presently, she is Associate Director of the School of
Art and Professor of Art at Texas Tech University. She has numerous
one woman, group, museum, and gallery exhibitions to her credit
throughout the U.S. and particularly Texas and New Mexico. Tina
Fuentes has become a noted Mexican-American artist working with
two-dimensional paintings and mixed media.
“Tina Fuentes’ compelling abstract images grab the viewer’s
attention with bold colors and dramatic shapes. The abrupt drama
of initial contact continues on another level as the eye begins
to explore the complex layered surfaces. Bold contrasting hues give
way to subtle shades with flat areas of color juxtaposed against
veils of scratched textural planes. Drawn and carved linear elements,
once discovered, become a powerful force in the visual dialogue.
Fuentes’ commanding paintings allude to a complex world where
issues, ideas and people cannot be translated in a sound bite. The
rich complexity of these layered surfaces hint at an elusive meaning
that is constantly changing and evolving.”
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