A Weekend Filled With Art

Summer time in the city. What a great time specially if the city is the city of Chicago. I love New York but I love Chicago better. A weekend of art filled events in a city that does not take for granted the few months of sun, warmth and the joy of outside activities. I spent five hours this past sunday inside the new modern wing at The Art Institute Of Chicago and was not able to complete viewing the entire new wing. Here are images of my chronological tour from contemporary art, 1945-60 and after 1960, a film and a video and after that a fast walk across Monroe street to the Millennium Park where families, bikers, tourists and myself enjoyed the sunset while the children walked and played on the water that spranged from the two glass cubic structure facing each other.while projections of everyday became visible. It seemed to me that this park surrounded by so much visual stimulation brought people together from all parts of the world and it was there that I realized how much we here in Dallas are missing out on an opportunity to enjoy life and to learn to have a greater appreciation for the arts.

solange's cv

Education
May 2008 The University Of Dallas Irving, TX.
Master of Fine Art/Painting
May 2007 The University of Dallas Irving, TX.
Master of Arts/Painting
May 2001 The Meadows School of the Arts, S.M.U. Dallas, TX.
Bachelors of Fine Arts/Printmaking/Cum-laude

Solo Exhibitions
2011 - march - Erasure.Narratives On Longing. South Dallas Cultural Center, Dallas, TX.
2010 Imaginary Homeland, Xue Contemporary Gallery, Dallas, TX.
2008 Colored Rhythm, M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Cerulean Gallery, Dallas, TX.
2008 Topos, Visual Arts Guild of Frisco, Frisco, TX.
2007 Topos, M.A. Thesis Exhibition, Upper Gallery, University of Dallas, Irving, TX.
2005 Umbrellas for Peace, Visual Arts Guild of Frisco, Frisco, TX.
2005 Caminhada, Rose Marine Theater Gallery, sponsored by the Latino Arts
Association of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX.
2004 Global Gathering, FIG (Fashion Industry Gallery), Dallas, TX.
1997 Roots of The Heart, Eastfield College Gallery, Mesquite, TX.

Selected Group Exhibitions
2010 Art For Food, Xue Contemporary Gallery, Dallas TX.
2010 Mind Over Matter, Xue Contemporary Gallery, Dallas, TX.
2010 Day of The Dead Art Exhibit, Bath House Cultural Center, Dallas, TX.
2010
2009 Hecho En Dallas, Latino Cultural Center, Dallas, TX.
2009 D Art Slam, F.I.G. Fashion Industry Gallery, Dallas, TX.
2009 EarCandy, Mokah Art Gallery, Dallas, TX.
2008 New Texas Talent XV, Craighead-Green Gallery, Dallas, TX.
2007 Correlation, Cerulean Gallery, Dallas, TX.
2007 Mutt Gallery, Dallas, TX.
2007 Serious Fun, Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery, University of Dallas, Irving,
TX.
2007 Boundless Expressions, Irving Arts Center, Irving, TX.
2006 Eleven, Haggerty Gallery, University of Dallas, Irving, TX.
2006 Blind Date, Samek Study Gallery, Bucknell University,
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
2006 Looking Inside-Another Perspective, Art Quest Annual Juried Show,
Jesuit Museum of Art, Dallas, TX.
2004 Tribute to Pablo Neruda, Latino Cultural Center, Dallas, TX.
2004 B.L.I.N.D. Janette Kennedy Gallery, hosted by Erika Badu
Honoring National HIV/Aids Testing, Dallas, TX.
2001 How Do You Measure Up? Upper Gallery, University of Dallas, Irving, TX.
2001 B.F.A. Senior Exhibition, Pollock Gallery, Southern Methodist University,
Dallas, TX.
2000 Arte Latino, African American Museum, Dallas, TX.
1996 Breaking the Role, DWCA National Juried Exhibition, Trammell Crow,
Dallas, TX.
1995 Fall Art Exhibition, Estrada Studio, Dallas, TX.
1992-1998 Lakewood Library Annual Juried Art Exhibition, Dallas, TX.1990
1990 Water Media, Wellborn Studio, Dallas, TX.


Bibliography
“Arte Bajo La Lluvia En Dallas.” Al Dia, Dallas Morning News, January 4, 2005,
p. 1A (Reproduction)
Gibson, E. Dewayne Jr. “Umbrellas For Peace.” The Gazette, January 2005,
p. 1-2 (Reproduction)
Gonzalez, Lucia. “Pintar Para Entender.” Diario La Estrela, March 20, 2005,
Sec. D, p. 1-4, cover (Reproduction)
Gromer, Jefferson. “United in Verse.” Dallas Morning News, Section: Culture &
Entertainment, May 21, 2006, p. 1-4, G
Mahoney, Jim. “Open Expression.” Dallas Morning News, January 4, 2005, p. 1B
(Reproduction)
Solis, Dianne. “Cross-Currents.” Dallas Morning News - Arts Day, January 24,
2001, p.6 C, cover (Reproduction)
Wisk, Allison. Neighbors. North Dallas. A Dallas Morning News Publication,
June 24, 2006, p.8-10 (Reproduction)

Grants/Awards
2006 Jesuit Art Museum Juried /Art Quest Honorable Mention
2001 The Meadows School Of The Arts, S.M.U. Artistic Scholarship
1997 The Dallas Women’s Caucus for the Art Awarded Solo Exhibition


Curatorial
2009 Jazz Players Series, oils by Junko Otsu, Sol Studio Art, Dallas, TX.
2009 Contemporary Works, installation by Ximena Mariel, paintings and photographs by Neva Everett & sculpture by Alfredo Salazar, Sol Studio Art, Dallas, TX.

Event Producer
2003 - 2004 Artist Night Out - Open Mic - Art Exhibit
Routh Street Studio, Dallas,Texas
2006 - 2009 Jazz Night Out - Jazz - Art Exhits - Happenings
Sol Studio Art - Dallas, Texas

When In Doubt Spend Some Time With A Child.

Whatever you do do it with love. There are times when our world feels like tumbling down and we with it. I find solitude in the presence of children, they have the power to quiet the voices in our heads. While observing a group of 3rd grades during an art activity it became clear that children at a younger age have the clarity of thought and emotion. They are not afraid yet some are limited by the external forces in which they were born into. It gives me great joy to see a smile, a grin, a look of proudness and confidence when they feel safe, when they believe they can. We think our children are blind and dumb to these external forces, we disregard their inteligence and break their spirit with our own fears. It is a matter of time, time we don't have to spend with them, time we don't make in order to better understand them, time we waist when we ignore them. Children at a young age can tell whether you are sincere about whatever you are saying and will respond accordingly, they only ask for the truth, for encouragement, for love, for attention. We can build and we can teardown a child' spirit. As adults we are responsible for nurishing the spirit of our children. Love, respect, happiness that is all they ask. Next time you feel in doubt about what to do with your life, look to a child and embrace your reflection. peace. solange

I Have Arrived

To finally recognize where you have been and what you have been doing with your life is a pretty good thing to experience. Awakening your senses is an experience akin to stopping to smell the flowers.
While dusting a shelf that displays pictures and nicknacks from my immediate and selective family members, my life and all that I am became clear. I had been raising my family and going to school commencing my student career at Richland College, a two years degree which took five or more to complete. Then getting accepted to the Meadows School of The Arts at SMU and even daring to do a masters at fourty six which by the grace of God I realized receiving a Masters In Fine Arts from the University of Dallas last may, it felt pretty good. I even counted, I have spent fifteen years persuing a higher education.
Looking at my chidren's pictures I became even more aware of my life's meaning, all the existential questioning ceased.
I smile at the photographs shouting into my empty nest words of affirmation.
I had arrived and had been made conscious of where and how.
By my willingness to listen and to be present I have created my own reality, my own world and in it I chose to extend a hand, to build bridges and to personally touch everyone I meet with a positive attitude and a kind spirit.

All We Need Is Love

We live in a house with a mother and a father, we go to school and we go back home to a mother and a father.
We live in a house with a mother and no father, we go to school and we go back home to a mother and no father.
We go to school to learn and to play and to see our friends.
We go to school to learn but we do not learn, we play and see our friends.
We go to school and we do not learn and play time is not fun and our friends are fighting.
We go home to hot food and clean clothing.
We go home to cold food and dirty rooms.
We get home and our mother has baked us cookies and we sit and relax and talk about the day.
We get home and our mother is not there.
We get home and we put something in the microwave to eat.
We go to sleep at a certain time and we wake up feeling good.
We go to sleep anytime we want and we can't focus on the school work.
We eat a healthy lunch prepared by our mother and father.
We eat pizza and cookies at the cafeteria and we usually throw away the canned vegetables.
We get picked up at the right time because we have other activities to attend to.
We stay after school til later and we are tired and hungry.
We are treated with respect because we were tought to treat others with respect.
We are yelled and screamed at because others treat us like that too.
We are the lucky ones.
We have loving parents.
We are not so lucky.
We have parents.
We are children.
We want love.
We want peace.
We want to be happy.

Planting Seeds Is Like Peace

If you ask a child: What is peace? you will hear most commonly that peace is calmness, quiet, I don't know, not fighting, getting along, helping others, all very simple answers that make sense, doesn't it?
The next question is do you feel peacefull most of the time? Now, honesty, lets not forget, is the number one thing most children express without fear, apart from the peer pressure some experience.
The dialogue begins: issues relevant to their day to day life experiences are articulated and peacefull solutions begin to surface from that dialogue.
I will build houses for the homeless, I will feed the poor, I will be a doctor and help the sick, I will stop drugs, I will help my family, I will do my homework, I will be nice to others, I will stay in school. Pretty basic needs I am thinking.
As universal as our needs are our understanding of the "other" seems to be unexistent until we hear each others voice.
Children, I believe, are our great rivers and valleys, our mountains and plains.
They are the air that we breath and the tears that we shed.
Peace as they said is calmness and quiet, it is when you find that place within yourself where like a child you can feel safe.
In reaching out to children you will enrich the world for they are a sea of pearls.
Today's children are tomorrows' men and women they are not immune to war, to famine, to hatred and violence.
Lets remember it everytime we see a child and lets start to reach out and hear their voices.

Childhood Memories

Grandmother, she is always present. I remember her sitting by the window in the afternoons, in the room that leads to the bathroom. A nice light falls in the room, she sits in solitude. With her colors and her brush she paints her city from a window in that room. From that window I can see the backyard, or at least part of it, I can see the short road up to where the fruit trees grow plump and sweet. On the far right side of the yard is where my grandmother raised pigs. She would feed them a thick cereal made out of yellow corn flour, they grew very big. At certain seasons my grandmother's backyard became a most delicious place to be, filled with fruit trees; Pe de Jabuticaba, Pe de Goiaba, Arvore de Abacate, Abacaxi, Uvas, Pe de Limao, Cana, Amora, Fruta do Conde, enfim, my grandmother planted everything. I remember she would wake up early, make coffe and start to take care of her daily bussiness. She would wash the linens and sheets outside in the tank, the water was very cold, it came from a big cemented block up high in the yard. As far as I can remember, I grew up watching my grandmother plant seeds and I watched her gather from those seeds. Her cooking was my favorite, her food had the flavors of the earth. My grandmother loved to wacth tv, after dinner she would sit with her needles and yarn and while watching the soap operas which by the way are excelent, she would create beautifull kneatted blanckets. I remember she one day told me that my hair was pretty the way it was, a short afro. She never wore pants, always with a dark colored knee high skirt and a dark color top, preferably with some sort of collar. I never understood why, but I never asked either. When I left my country to come to the United States I left my grandmother. Time passed, she grew older. I visited my grandmother before she died and yes she was very old and very weak, and how I wish I could turn back time. I would sit with her by that window and ask her all the things I never did. I remember my grandmother and I know she remembers me.