Dallas Art News
Posted Thursday, May 19, 2011

Texas Family by Rene Alvarado

Rene Alvarado: Memories from El Manantial
Latino Cultural Center
May 12 – August 20, 2011

Walk into the east gallery at the Latino Cultural Center – into the Rene Alvarado show – and it seems immediately obvious Alvarado is a portrait painter. Spend some time really looking at these paintings, though, and you see that the magic of Rene Alvarado's art is that he is a consummate visual storyteller, decorative artist, and beautifully technical painter as well.
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RENE ALVARADO NAMED
2009 TEXAS STATE ARTIST

"Whereas, the 2009 Texas State Two-Dinensional Artist is Rene Alvarado; born in Mexico, he came to the United Statees with his family as a boy, and his work powerfully evokes the values and heritage of his native country, finding universal resonance in the rich particularity of Mexican culture ..." [ from Tx State House of Representatives, Resolution no. 254, May 28, 2009 ]

René Alvarado was among artists recognized by The Texas Commission on the Arts and the Texas Legislature. In the May 28th ceremony at the Texas State Capitol, State Senators and Representatives announced the honorary Texas Artists appointments for 2009 and 2010. Alvarado was selected as the 2009 Texas State Two-Dimensional Artist.

In an interview with the San Angelo Standard Times upon receiving this honor, Alvarado described his work in terms of his personal visual language.

"I take imagery and combine it with out-of-the-ordinary combinations. I express emotion through color, almost like a narrative. There's so many layers in the painting that you would have to look at a painting several times to see all the information. There's a lot of hidden visual language."

His style developed as a means to communicate. Alvarado said he didn't speak English when his family immigrated to a town in Wyoming where his was the only Mexican family.

"The teacher noticed I was drawing a lot. I always remember her because she used art to communicate with me until they got English as a second language teachers. It was like sign language for me. If you look back to those beginning days, I literally developed a language with imagery." [ San Angelo Standard Times, June 2009 ]

"Texas is home to so many talented artists, and this diverse group exemplifies the best of the best," said Texas Commission on the Arts Executive Director Dr. Gary Gibbs. "This honor rewards these talented Texans for their outstanding artistic achievements, and we are proud to have them represent the state."

Other 2009 honorees include Poet Laureate, Paul Ruffin of Huntsville; 3-Dimensional Artist, Eliseo Garcia of Dallas; and Musician, Willie Nelson of Austin. Each one was selected for the exceptional quality of his work and for an outstanding commitment to the arts in Texas.

The 2010 appointees include Texas State Poet Laureate Karla K. Morton of Denton, Texas State Musician Sara Hickman of Austin, Texas State Two-Dimensional Artist Marc Burckhardt of Austin and Texas State Three-Dimensional Artist John Bennett of Fredericksburg.