SMOKE AND OTHER MEANS OF RELIABLE COMMUNICATION

Welcome to the exhibition "Smoke Signals and Other Reliable Means of Communication," showing paintings, drawings and prints by Richard Armendariz.


In this day and time, Armendariz invites us to consider what is, if any, reliable means of communication while using the oldest known method known to mankind, mark marking.  He carves, he burns, he paints, he prints, and the messages are beautifully delivered.

Richard Armendariz was born in El Paso, Texas and resides in San Antonio, Texas. His artistic and conceptual aesthetic is heavily influenced by growing up on the US/Mexico border.

Armendariz's images have cultural, biographical and art historical references that are carved and burned into the surfaces of his paintings and drawings. The woodcuts are printed from carved wood panels. His content found in classic novels, poems, and song lyrics, elevate and reinforce the conceptual link between the nuanced meanings of words and imagery.  Themes involving power dynamics, border politics, and reworking character archetypes are combined with a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor to make up the conceptual backbone of his work. 

Included in the exhibition are Armendariz's “burned” drawings on archival paper and woodcuts from the Border Movement series which reference the Healers or Curanderos who do not recognize borders. Other woodcuts are included from the Re-mix series of images that "remix" Southwestern archetypes with classical myth. Armendariz's paintings include a new series of polychrome, carved wooden panels that are lit from within.

View the exhibition in our "room" and reach out to us for more information or an appointment to come see the work in person.