International Museum of Art
Photograph © Mike Patino
The International Museum of Art is located in the Turney home in El Paso, Texas. The spacious Museum houses collections from Asia, Africa, and many points both near and far. The Museum also houses a Mexican Revolution collection which includes a replica of Pancho Villa’s death mask, and a replica of a Mexican casita as it might have looked at the time of the Revolution.
The Museum hosts several national and international exhibitions each year and offers art-related programs, activities, and special events. The Museum is also available for rental for a variety of events.
new exhibit
PLEASE JOIN US AT
International Museum of Art May 6th, 2012 ~presenting~
by Artist Dr. Albert Wong
and
Pastel Society of El Paso
Albert Wong
April 2012
My work is in the trompe l'oeil tradition -- fooling the eye to see three-dimensional objects in space, when in fact the painting surfaces are perfectly flat. Viewers are often so amused or confused by the spatial illusion that they focus on the illusion before seeking meaning behind the images.
The background in my recent paintings is made of layers of ephemeral, indistinct Chinese characters, which are drawn from old woodblock-printed Buddhist scripture. These characters carry the look that they were cut by human hand, with all the inconsistencies in strokes, width and spacing. My sources of inspiration were created before the impact of computers on characters, types and graphic design, therefore none of the refinements of the laser-perfect type we have come to expect are there. If a character had a horizontal stroke slightly higher or lower, or the thickness of line stroke differed from another, I replicated it the same way for visual effect. These characters are juxtaposed with the illusion of cuts, slashes or crumpling of the paper. The trompe l'oeil illusions allow the viewer to peer through and beyond the appearance of a manipulated surface, the appearance of light and shadow, which is only watercolor on flat paper.
The images are an unconscious choice hinting at the confluence of cultural heritages in me, both East and West. Conceptually, the work provokes viewers to ask questions about the continuity of Chinese culture, about our ability to understand and appreciate art from non-Western cultures, and about forms of self-expression of a Chinese-American artist
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CHILDREN'S ART LESSONS
SATURDAYS 1:30 P.M.-3;30 P.M. INSTRUCTED BY EDDIE ALCALA AND KATRINA MARK
CHILDREN'S ART CLASS WITH ART OPENING RECEPTION UPON CLASS COMPLETION
ALL SUPPLIES INCLUDED