Viva el arte

Hispanic artists with cool views

by Leon Nigrosh

VIVA EL ARTE '99: AN EXHIBITION OF LOCAL HISPANIC CONTEMPORARY ART At the University of Massachusetts Medical School Lobby Gallery, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, through January 11, 2000.

Co-sponsored by ARTSWorcester and Centro Las Americas, the fourth biennial Hispanic Art Exhibition, currently showing at the UMass Medical School Lobby Gallery, includes some four dozen drawings, paintings, and photographs by 11 area artists who offer a variety of styles, techniques, and subject matter.

Once again, the paintings by the Leominster-based master of primitivism, Lionel Reinford, dominate the show. Each captivating canvas conjures a scene with almost child-like purity, simple composition, and an economy of shapes. His bird's-eye view of Worcester City Hall Plaza features uncluttered profiles of the major buildings situated around the green. Another treat, especially for detectives, is his Opening Night at the Heywood Gallery. Here Reinford has produced his version of the previous "Viva El Arte" held at the Heywood on Winter Street. Everything is presented in great detail, right down to replications of the works that were on display two years ago (including his prize-winning Battle at Port Royal, which serves as this year's signature piece). What makes this joyful representation even more intriguing is the fun you can have identifying the people in the picture. His most recent work, Beating the Waves, is a departure from his typically overpopulated scenes. Here we see the single figure of a young girl in a fuchsia dress skipping from one crest to another as she heads toward the shore. The naiveté of Reinford's painting style still predominates, but he has now added a bit of mystery to his subject.

Holden artist Iris Lanyon's watercolors also add to exhibition's symphony of bright colors. Her landscape Manati delivers an Impressionist's view of this Puerto Rican hillside town, its tiny cottages brushed in hot yellows, pinks, reds, and greens -- complete with laundry drying on the lines. Rendered in the same mix of piquant colors, her small Yauco (Mountain Town) offers a closer view of island living. For a humorous change of pace, Lanyon presents us with a large, detailed watercolor-and-ink drawing You've Got the Wrong Bandito, which features three barnyard roosters (one wearing a sheriff's badge) squaring off over a jailed fowl.

Aside from offering a venue for accomplished artists, "Viva El Arte" seeks to present emerging artists as well. Showing for the first time in this exhibit, Worcester artist Anna Ortiz-Neustrup has included an oil-on-canvas that consists of sizzling reds, oranges, and yellows, laid on with slashing strokes that produce a none-too-flattering portrait of President Clinton. Presenting his work for the first time anywhere, self-taught Worcester artist Ted Febo has three small watercolors, each modestly painted with a minimum of brushwork. His La Cantante is a simple, soft, and gestural delineation of a singer with long, dark tresses. The fluidity of his work in Woman in Bath gives the appearance that not only is the bather still wet, but so too is the painting. Eighteen-year-old Robert Ortiz's Graf Art is scrupulously executed with felt-tipped markers, barely containing a riot of distinct colors and shapes coming from spray cans used by a stern-eyed character.

As if to accentuate the use of brilliant color throughout this exhibit, the young poet and first-time exhibitor Alixa provides the exception. She has eschewed color in favor of the gray scale of graphite pencil. Her Adagio -- finished in pencil, ink, marker, and spit -- provides a haunting view of two women and a child encased in a small space walled with faces. Her 20x24" Abstract of Hernandez is a fantasy figure presented in its dissected glory. Even though her dark work is centered on portents of doom and gloom, the artist herself is nothing like that, in fact she appeared at the opening reception dressed as a white angel -- complete with wings.

Each of the other artists represented in this show also presents colorful images of the exuberance of daily life, whether it's a walk in Elm Park, a yard sale, or a family portrait. Visitors are asked to vote for the best work in the show. Prizes will be awarded at the closing reception on January 10, 2000.

The gallery is open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Call 755-5142 or 798-1900, ext. 229.