Hand-painted chairs, colorful portraits and religious landscapes, are all part of the new exhibit by local artists Rosie Cantu and Andrew Garcia, who are mother and son, which will kick off on Oct. 21 at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art.
The exhibit “Blessed beyond belief” will show colorful portraits that are inspired by local Hispanic women and religious symbolism.
Garcia’s work focuses on colorful realism and said his inspiration for his work was the Mexican culture. The exhibit will feature portraits of Latina women and religious images.
“My inspiration was just the Mexican culture, I painted a young Latina women and I also have a piece that has the Virgin Mary and it looks like a Mexican landspace,” he said.
“I am taking things from the Valley and incorporating them into my art. ” he said.
Garcia said art means a lot to him and this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic he has spent a lot of his time painting. He said this is the second exhibit he has with his mom and that she is his role model.
“It is amazing because she is my role model, she is where I get a lot of my style from and I’m always learning from her,” he said.
“To have an exhibit next to her is an honor, I can’t wait for the people to come visit to see both of our art.”
Cantu said her biggest achievements are the three of her art pieces that are hanging at the National Shrine Basilica de San Juan: Our Savior Jesus, Our Blessed Mother Mary, and The Passing of Our Lord.
“I have also painted murals at Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Park, many restaurants and a coffee shop,” she said on her autobiography. “I have had numerous art shows throughout the Rio Grande Valley and have taught art classes to children and adults.”
She said she dreamt of becoming an artist when she was a child but it was in 2017 when she decided to pick up the brush and it was magical.
“The adventure has been more than amazing. I have delved into so many art mediums and techniques, and I truly love them all,” she said.
Executive Director Deyanira Ramirez said this new exhibit makes her very proud because the artists are local and it is not very common to see exhibits by a mother and son together.
“We would love for the community to come and visit the exhibit which will be located on the gallery that we have on the side of our coffee shop,” she said. “We hope everyone enjoys this.”
For more information, visit “Brownsville Museum of Fine Art” on Facebook or call the museum at (956) 542-0941.
