The Collector’s World: Carlos Melguizo has an educated eye and receptive mind for art that has a lot to tell

Art is waiting to abduct you.

Once inside the Clark Gallery at the International Museum of Art & Science, “Imagined Worlds: Exploring the Carlos Melguizo Collection” will hold your attention with a firm grip.

This exhibition of international artworks speaks of imaginative and insightful places within mankind’s realities. Philanthropist, art collector, and artist Carlos Melguizo has assembled a few of his own creative works along with a selection from his impressive private collection.

He describes his collection as works that have meaning within our being and spirit.

“You know, art is subjective, it has to move me, intrigue me, provoke me,” he said.

The remarkable works in this exhibition certainly demonstrate that power. “Imagined Worlds: Exploring the Carlos Melguizo Collection” was curated by Maria Elena Macias, associate dean of the UTRGV College of Fine Arts.

Metaphors have a place here. Melguizo’s painting of beloved clouds, “Save It for a Rainy Day,” serves as a metaphor for the collection. The trompe d’oeil image shows the illusion of a patch of realistically colored sky taped upon a black-and-white version. It could be a window to the real world, but the tape imagery signifies otherwise, and we are left with the reconsidered reality.

The human figure dominates this collection by representing inner thoughts or becoming the thought itself. “My Thoughts on Your Skin” by Armando Martinez serves as a metaphor for the artistic process of painters, resolving the magical transfer of the artist’s vision onto its obedient surface. The large painting by Gabriel Garza, “I love you Amy,” brilliantly portrays the feelings of romantic hope and its underlying insecurity. The styles of Surrealism and Magic Realism further weave the works in this collection together. Surrealism delves the unconscious and dream states, while Magic Realism portrays fantastical events in an otherwise realistic setting.

Human rights gain entrance with “Allegory of Castas” by Fernando Guevara. Guevara creates universes where characters coexist in a world parallel to the one we know. Incorporating 18th-century styles, this painting is informed by Casta Painting. Castas, a term used in 17th and 18th centuries Spanish America, described the mixed-race, post-Conquest period people. Casta Paintings conveyed the perception that the more European you were, the closer to the top of the social and racial hierarchy you belonged.

Also speaking of humanity’s dark side, José Luis Rodríguez Guerra’s “Carnations for My Love” depicts a misshapen matador offering carnations. The tense expression on his face belies an act of love or peace, as does the blood red area visually supporting his body. Does he question what he performed for our approval? Must love be conditional?

As a child, Melguizo’s tendency to collect manifested itself through the gathering of charms that he presented to his mother on special occasions. Later, as an established jeweler, he strung the charms together for her necklace, which is on display in the show. A few pieces of jewelry that he designed as a professional jeweler are also on display. Melguizo’s passion for owning fine art was sparked by a Salvador Dali exhibition, and the metaphysical world beyond the ordinary grew his collection. His own painting owes a nod to surrealist Rene Magritte.

These works extend our scope of understanding the human world around us by taking us somewhere beyond our usual thinking, serving as the windows through which we observe the worlds of their creators.

“Imagined Worlds: Exploring the Carlos Melguizo Collection” is a grand experience and should not be missed.

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