Tony Abeyta
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Featured Artist: Tony Abeyta
Tony Abeyta was raised in Gallup, N.M. of Navajo and Anglo descent. He creates a powerful range of contemporary paintings. He explores different mediums such as oil and monotype creating a variety of pieces including charcoal drawings, large scale oil and sand paintings, and abstract mixed media pieces incorporating encaustic wax, copper and printmaking. His individual style incorporates bold colors, rich textures and representations of Navajo deities.
“I was raised in a small town surrounded by the navajo and zuni reservation, with Acoma and Laguna in my backyard. Route 66 ran through town and the railroad as well. there was always a sense that there was other places to be and I left gallup at 16 years old to study art in Santa Fe, N.M. at the institute of american indian art.”
School was important, and was a license to travel to many great places. The Maryland Institute of Art in Baltimore, Lacoste School of Art in southern France, SACI in Florence Italy, Chicago Art Institute, Haystack School in Bangor, Maine, and finally NYU for graduate studies. Currently Tony works in both Santa Fe, NM and in Chicago where he lives with his son Gabriel, keeping a studio in both places.
“Living in an urban place adds an element of progressive cultural experience. In a city there is the whole discourse of cultures, thinking, music and international art. I consider myself a regionalist, accepting that much of what I do is tied to a native culture and place. I find that art is constantly moving, reinventing and affected by the changes in our culture and its great to feel part of that in some way.”
Tony works on both oil paintings and large scale drawings, and is creating a new series of large 3 dimensional sculptures as well. “I try to diversify as an artist, there are certainly many directions I take as a painter. I am concurrently working on large neo-modernist landscapes, Black and white abstract bio mechanical charcoal and ink wash drawings, colorful Diety paintings with abrupt textures and paint, and now sculpture as well.”
Tony will be teaching a workshop/demo at the Artists Materials Expo 2012:Creative Spirit in September, and one of his paintings is the inspiration for the event Apron.
Contact: tonyabeyta@rocketmail.com
See Tony’s workshop and the complete Expo Workshop schedule here: http://expoartisan.com