Alex Garcia
Alex Garcia (b. 1973) is an artist working in egg tempera. Garcia was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He currently lives in San Antonio, Texas.
Garcia’s work has been included numerous exhibitions and has won various awards for his quiet and pensive portraits. One writer described Garcia’s work this way:
“Garcia examines his sitters with minute detail, encapsulating the texture of skin, wrinkles and hair on his panels. The linear markings of color, like colored threads, tie the portraits together. There is the sensation of flesh and a visceral element of skin; the portraits are very human and humane at the same time. These soliloquies take center stage because of the sensitivity of his brush stroke.” (Release for Contemporary Icons:Tempera)
Garcia is interested in creating images that resonate with the viewer both through the crafts and concepts of painting, by inviting the viewer to consider his sitters and what they may be thinking or experiencing.
Why Garcia Paints & Why In Egg Tempera
“My goal is to make images that are aesthetically beautiful and conceptually engaging . I want to create paintings you want to return to and enjoy both for how they are painted and for what they are communicating.”
“I paint with egg tempera because I love its fast drying quality, it’s ability to layer many colors and retain its vibrancy, the clarity I can achieve in the final visual image and its unique color/surface voice among the mediums.”
Artists I Admire and Study
Artists who Garcia studies and admires include George Tooker, Paul Cadmus, Andrew Wyeth, N.C. Wyeth, Jared French, Edward Hopper, Diego Rivera, Douglas Wiltraut, Dennis Harper, Carl Rice Embrey, Matthew Daub, Michael Allen, Alan Feltus and others.
Below are two statements by artists that he admires. Each statement resonates with him deeply.
“For me there are two things that matter most in a work of art–how it is made, and its ability to move the human soul and imagination. These two work in concert”. Matthew Daub
“Art should be about transcendence. It should not merely reflect our surroundings like a mirror, adding to the clutter, but become something more wonderful, more meaningful than that. It wants to be remembered and returned to over and over again. Good art feeds us. It is so important.” Alan Feltus
Introduction To Egg Tempera
The history of Garcia’s introduction to egg tempera begins while on a class trip to the Brandywine Museum in Pennsylvania. There he was introduced to the work of Andrew Wyeth for the first time. The pristine imagery was unlike anything Garcia had seen in his young life and left him mesmerized. The description of the egg tempera medium served to fascinate Garcia even further. It was not until years later in his own artistic search that those early experiences helped to guide him in the current direction for his own art. Repeated visits to the museum combined with art history studies served as inspiration that has transformed into Garcia’s pursuit and commitment to mastering this beautiful medium.
Education
1996 B.F.A., Kutztown University, Kutztown PA
Exhibitions
2010
- 80th Annual San Antonio Artists Exhibition – Juried , The San Antonio Art League and Museum San Antonio, Texas
2009
- Contemporary Icons: Tempera – Invitational, Westfield State College, Westfield, MA
2008
- Ab Ovo (From the Egg) Painters in Egg Tempera – Invitational, Clement Gallery, Troy, New York
- 78th Annual San Antonio Artists Exhibition – Juried , The San Antonio Art League and Museum San Antonio, Texas
2007
- Coppini Minature Show, Coppini Academy of Fine Art, San Antonio, TX
- Coppini Portrait Show, Coppini Academy of Fine Art, San Antonio, TX
- Mandala Art Gallery, San Antonio, TX
- ViewPoint 2007, Cincinnati, OH
- Members Annual Juried Show, Coppini Academy of Fine Arts, San Antonio TX
2006
- Liquid Layers, Avant Gallery, El Paso TX
- Why Not, International Museum of Art, El Paso TX
2005
- Texas Rasquache Art Festival, Shine Gallery, El Paso TX
- Arts International, International Museum of Art, El Paso, TX
- FACE, Art Car Museum , Houston, TX
1996
- Hispanic Heritage Month Art Exhibit – Kutztown University Student Union, Kutztown,PA
- Spring Exhibition, Sharadin Art Gallery(KU), Kutztown, PA
- Open Space Artists, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown PA
Awards
- Contributor Award, 80th Annual San Antonio Artists Exhibition, The San Antonio Art League and Museum San Antonio, Texas
- Kit Goldsbury Donor Award, 78th Annual San Antonio Artists Exhibition, The San Antonio Art League and Museum San Antonio, Texas
- Anne Knight Donor Award, 78th Annual San Antonio Artists Exhibition, The San Antonio Art League and Museum San Antonio, Texas
- Third Place, Coppini Portrait Show, Coppini Academy of Fine Art, San Antonio, TX, 2007
- Third Place, ViewPoint 2007, Cincinnati, OH, 2007
- Third Place, Artist of the Month, Coppini Academy of Fine Art, San Antonio TX, 2007
- Honorable Mention, Annual Juried Exhibition, Coppini Academy of Fine Art, San Antonio TX, 2007
- Artists Magazine – Annual Artists Magazine Competition, 2006
- Blue Ribbon Award, Why Not? – International Museum of Art, El Paso TX, 2006
Gallery Affiliations
- Mandala Art Gallery, San Antonio, TX
Memberships
- San Antonio Visual Artists, San Antonio, TX
Publications
- Ekperigin, Naomi, “Artist of the Month,” American Artist Magazine, November 2007, View Website
- Wohlfarth, Jenny “Degree of Distinction,” Artist Magazine, January 2007, Pg. 105
- Kennedy, Renee’, Best Of America Mixed Media Artists & Artisans Volume 1, 2007, Pg. 39