I met Tony Abeyta last year at the LA Art Show. I was simply awed by his work. I consider myself a Los Angeles writer. I love my town, and often use it as a back drop for my work.
I like that Mr. Abeyta does that with his paintings. The Southwest has an active art scene, but is sometimes dismissed as, well, being the Southwest. There can be regional snobbery, which I find defeats the purpose of an artistic community.
I fell inlove with the Southwest when I'd visit my college friend in New Mexico. Back then, the Southwest was a really big. Fashion, design and art, particularly by Georgia O'keeffe and R.C. Gorman, was being widely explored.
I love that he uses Native American iconagraphy in his abstracts.
Another favorite was discovering the work of the late S.C. Yuan brought down from Carmel by Trotter Galleries. I was happy to see a person of Asian descent in a gallery known for "early California & American Paintings."
I loved his color palate, and the spirit his paintings evoked. From his bio, one read: "Despondent over what he felt was lack of recognition for his work, his inability to become nationally known, and his failing marriage, Yuan took his own life and died September 6, 1974."
I had a discussion with a gallerist about Pacific Standard Time, which hopes to solidify Southern California as an active part of post-war art. He wasn't sure if PST had done that. However, I did think PST did manage to explore the work of artists of color who were never mentioned.
It would be great if they could do PST Northern California, and Mr. Yuan's work would finally get the recognition it deserves.
Let's take a look at this still life.
Look at the brush work of this painting. I loved that he piled it on thick! Of all the paintings I'd seen, I probably spent the most time gazing into the work of Mr. Yuan. Mr. Yuan thank you.
LA Art Show thank you for bringing art from all over to my city!
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