Portraits Reinvented at Blue Star

by JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor

Painting portraits is a time-honored art form that artists have practiced for some 5.000 years. For most of human history there was no other way to record someone’s looks except by drawing, painting or sculpting the face and head – or the entire figure of a person. The goal has always been to recreate the features and countenance of the depicted person.

Natan Dvir: “Mohannad, Bi’ane”

But the new Blue Start Contemporary exhibit, The Sitter, has a new take on portraiture. Instead of just representation, artists were asked to use “contemporary portraiture and figuration to build narratives and generate conversation around the subjects’ actions, experiences or identities.”

Suzette Bross: “Sarah”

Curator Jacqueline Saragoza McGilvray explained how she got the idea for the current show. “As I was visiting and talking to artists who were introducing portrait-base work, I noticed they often spoke about their conversations with their subjects, and about reflecting the stories of their subjects through their work,” she said. “They wanted to make that content accessible to the viewer. I thought that was a very interesting way to activate portraiture.”

In traditional portraiture, the subject’s story is not always told. But in these works, the artists use their subjects’ stories to talk about complicated subject matter or to really celebrate the individuals featured, she added. A subtheme in the show is the use of text to provide a broader context. A number of artists focused on family members but there are also self-portraits as well as images of individuals grouped according to what they have in common. In some cases, you can also listen to the voice of the subject.

“These artists are putting their subjects front and center and treating them as collaborators,” noted McGilvray.

One entire wall of the main Blue Star Gallery features three rows of portraits of mostly women who were victims of sexual abuse or assault. The images are paintings of real people who actually chose the photos of themselves that the artist, Madison Cowles Serna, painted from. These will be presented with small sculptures featuring texts that the portraits’ subjects wrote to Serna about what they experienced.

Loc Huynh: “Mom Making Pho”

Another, smaller, group presentation, “Eighteen,” is by Israeli photographer Natan Dvir who captured quiet but eloquent images of Palestinian young people looking into the camera with serious, resigned and somewhat distrustful expressions on their faces as they were photographed in their own environments. The photos are quite affecting. Read the added text through which the young people describe themselves in their own words.

Right across from Dvir’s photos is the work of LaToya Hobbs, from Baltimore, who is a painter and a print maker. In the center is a large piece that looks like a print of a painting of a black mother and child, called “Salt of the Earth,” which is part of the series by the same name. On her website, the artist states that she “explores the personification of women as salt and their function as preservers of family, culture and community.” On one side of the large piece, is her stunning self-portrait done in relief print.

In another section of the gallery is the eye-catching exhibit-within-the-exhibit of a group of pieces by Loc Huynh, a Denton-based artist of Vietnamese descent, who paints cartoonish images of a woman, identified as “Mom” engaged in various activities, like “making pho” and responding to thunder with fear. He seems to be exploring his own background and family ties in vivid colors. The images stay with you, asking questions.

LaToya Hobbs: Self portrait

Nearby, Blue Star has placed the large, colorful paintings of San Antonio artist Carmen Cartiness Johnson, including a painting of a black man, standing by himself. According to McGilvray, the artist’s “portraits” do not portray one specific individual, but are more like composite images. The other lively painting is an explosion of painted figures and various situations where people gather and interact with each other. One would need to examine the painting for a long while to get all the implied narratives. The painting is a 2-D story book.

San Antonio artist Cruz Ortiz’s portrait of another well-known artist, Alejandro Diaz, who used to live in San Antonio, seems almost traditional among these works.

One image not to miss, that you can see only from outside: Suzette Bross’ “Sarah.” It’s a spark for imaginative narratives.

Other artists in the show are: La Vaughn Belle, Ruth Leonella Buentello, Sarah Fox, Zora Murff and Philip Matthews.

For the first time at Blue Star, the exhibit is accompanied by an interactive app featuring gallery texts, visitor prompts and information aimed at giving visitors a broader context to engage with the art. The app is free to download from the Apple Store or Google Play Store.
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“The Sitter,” June 3 – Sept. 5, 2021; exhibition opening June 3 , 6-8 p.m.; Blue Star Contemporary, 116 Blue Star, in the Blue Star complex on S. Alamo St. The opening is free and open to the public. However, you should call in advance to let them know you are coming” 210-227-6960; bsc@bluestarcontemporary.org.