Art takes us to unimaginable places and lets us experience the world through others’ eyes. Laredo College is proud and privileged to invite artists to showcase their connection to art and what it can inspire.
This Friday, Nov. 1, local artist Dimitri Garcia will share his thoughts and himself through canvas, paint and color during the “Es Mi Arte” gallery exhibit at the Ft. McIntosh Martha Fenstermaker Memorial Visual Arts Gallery. He will be available for a Q&A session during the opening reception on Friday from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
The exhibit will be available for viewing until Dec. 13 and gallery hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The event is free and open to the public.
As a fan of Banksy, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, local art aficionados may see some of their inspiration in Garcia’s work. In a similar fashion, he hopes his art inspires other artists, new and current, to put their thoughts and ideas to a medium that fits them and shows off their talent to the world.
“In the six or seven years I’ve been painting, I have never shown my work to anyone other than posting it on Instagram or to close family,” Garcia said. “This is the first time I’ve been asked to show my work this way. It’s funny because every time I finish a piece, it goes straight to my garage and it’ll just sit there, and then on to the next canvas.”
Inspired by friend and LC Art Professor Mary Provence, Garcia will finally be exhibiting his art which is infused with what he can find to bring his vision to life. He uses acrylic paint, house paint, spray paint, newspapers, loteria cards, Pokemon cards, comic books, magazines and more in his work.
During this time, he said that listening to EDM music through headphones allows existence to reach him; and then he starts putting it on the canvas.
“I’ve tried to design each piece before I start but it never works out,” he said. “The music inspires me as I go along and I’ve caught myself working on a canvas until late at night after losing track of time. By the time I stop, it’s 4 a.m.”