CAB 1st Floor Artwork

This sculpture was created, exhibited and lit for Commemorative Week of San Antonio’s Tricentennial Celebration. The week began with the Day of Reflection when the anniversary of the establishment of the original Mission San Antonio de Valero (near San Pedro Springs) was honored. It was 300 years to the day that the city was founded.

On the evening of May 1, the Day of Reflection, faith leaders from 23 groups gathered outside San Fernando Cathedral to participate in an interfaith celebration and candlelight vigil. Musical and dance performances showcased the Sounds of Faith in San Antonio and 300 Prayers Art Installation. Faith-based leaders, dignitaries from City and County governments, along with hundreds of San Antonians, filled Main Plaza and watched as Mayor Ron Nirenberg lit the Commemorative Flame of Reflection. Then in a stirring show of unity, at 20:18 military time, there was a City-wide ringing of church bells.

The Flame of Refection was designed to represent the many faiths of our venerable city all coming together. According to Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, "This city was built on faith."

Gini Garcia (American, b. 1964)
Emilio Flores, Jr. (Mexican, b. 1988)
The Flame of Reflection, 2018 Solid Styrofoam interior covered in lightweight Hydrocal Stucco, studded with handblown glass flames 12 feet (h) x 5 feet (w) x 28 inches (d)
Provenance:Gift of the San Antonio Tricentennial Commission, 2018
Exhibited:Main Plaza, San Antonio, Texas, (May 1 - 6, 2018).

The Works of Terry Dunkum
Terry Dunkum began painting as therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A Vietnam veteran and a 30 year officer in the San Antonio Police Department, Dunkum uses the painting of peaceful landscapes as an antidote to painful memories.

Terry Dunkum (American, 20^th Century)
Part of the Community
Oil on canvas
Signed l.r.
48 x 36 inches

The Works of Carolina G. Flores
“The colors in my work are vibrant, pure and fresh from the tube. Going back to family portraits (home, West Texas), highway landscapes and neighborhoods fill my canvasses.  There, in these portraits and landscapes, are the stories I want to tell with an emotion of color and line. 

The flowers are an extension of my love of nature, color and movement. Whether store bought or grown in the garden, the brush moves quickly, capturing their dance before the petals fall.” --- Carolina Flores

Carolina G. Flores (American, 1949)
Ranunculus I
Oil on canvas
Signed m.r. (in foliage)
18 x 48 inches

The Works of Carolina G. Flores
“The colors in my work are vibrant, pure and fresh from the tube. Going back to family portraits (home, West Texas), highway landscapes and neighborhoods fill my canvasses.  There, in these portraits and landscapes, are the stories I want to tell with an emotion of color and line. 

The flowers are an extension of my love of nature, color and movement. Whether store bought or grown in the garden, the brush moves quickly, capturing their dance before the petals fall.” --- Carolina Flores

Carolina G. Flores (American, 1948)
Pomegranates
Oil on gesso board
12 x 36 inches

The pomegranate is a particularly meaningful subject to the artist. The tree is a reminder of her childhood home in West Texas.

The Works of Mario Garza
Born and raised on San Antonio’s East Side, Mario Garza is a self-taught artist, a musician and a composer. He is the son of Mexican born parents who encouraged him to express himself through music and art. Whether being allowed to paint murals on their walls or practice his music in the living room, he and his brothers were given room to create. In addition to his photography, Garza has also worked in watercolors, oils and pastels.

“I was 20 years old when I purchased my first 35mm SLR Minolta XE 5 camera and began taking serious black and white and color photos.  I’m a self-taught artist using a variety of mixed media to produce subtle to bold dramatic portraits and landscape paintings. I use my photography and digital imagery to pursue a photorealism style of painting. By using my digital images as a model, I am able to get a unique representation of a one-of-a-kind original work of art. My inspiration comes from portrait artist John Singer Sargent, Wyeth, the Photo Secessionists and the Abstract and Neo Expressionists of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.”--- Mario Garza  

Mario Garza (American, b. 1954)
Mission Espada
Multimedia on cold press watercolor paper
Signed l.r.
28 ½  x 44 1/2 inches

The Works of Mario Garza
Born and raised on San Antonio’s East Side, Mario Garza is a self-taught artist, a musician and a composer. He is the son of Mexican born parents who encouraged him to express himself through music and art. Whether being allowed to paint murals on their walls or practice his music in the living room, he and his brothers were given room to create. In addition to his photography, Garza has also worked in watercolors, oils and pastels.

“I was 20 years old when I purchased my first 35mm SLR Minolta XE 5 camera and began taking serious black and white and color photos.  I’m a self-taught artist using a variety of mixed media to produce subtle to bold dramatic portraits and landscape paintings. I use my photography and digital imagery to pursue a photorealism style of painting. By using my digital images as a model, I am able to get a unique representation of a one-of-a-kind original work of art. My inspiration comes from portrait artist John Singer Sargent, Wyeth, the Photo Secessionists and the Abstract and Neo Expressionists of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.” --- Mario Garza  

Mario Garza (American, b. 1954)
Mission Concepción
Mixed media on cold press watercolor paper
Signed l.l.
33 x 47 inches

The Works of Mario Garza
Born and raised on San Antonio’s East Side, Mario Garza is a self-taught artist, a musician and a composer. He is the son of Mexican born parents who encouraged him to express himself through music and art. Whether being allowed to paint murals on their walls or practice his music in the living room, he and his brothers were given room to create. In addition to his photography, Garza has also worked in watercolors, oils and pastels.

“I was 20 years old when I purchased my first 35mm SLR Minolta XE 5 camera and began taking serious black and white and color photos.  I’m a self-taught artist using a variety of mixed media to produce subtle to bold dramatic portraits and landscape paintings. I use my photography and digital imagery to pursue a photorealism style of painting. By using my digital images as a model, I am able to get a unique representation of a one-of-a-kind original work of art. My inspiration comes from portrait artist John Singer Sargent, Wyeth, the Photo Secessionists and the Abstract and Neo Expressionists of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.” --- Mario Garza  

Mario Garza (American, b. 1954)
Mission San Jose
Mixed media on cold press watercolor paper
Signed l.l.
31 ½  x 44 ½  inches

The Works of Mario Garza
Born and raised on San Antonio’s East Side, Mario Garza is a self-taught artist, a musician and a composer. He is the son of Mexican born parents who encouraged him to express himself through music and art. Whether being allowed to paint murals on their walls or practice his music in the living room, he and his brothers were given room to create. In addition to his photography, Garza has also worked in watercolors, oils and pastels.

“I was 20 years old when I purchased my first 35mm SLR Minolta XE 5 camera and began taking serious black and white and color photos.  I’m a self-taught artist using a variety of mixed media to produce subtle to bold dramatic portraits and landscape paintings. I use my photography and digital imagery to pursue a photorealism style of painting. By using my digital images as a model, I am able to get a unique representation of a one-of-a-kind original work of art. My inspiration comes from portrait artist John Singer Sargent, Wyeth, the Photo Secessionists and the Abstract and Neo Expressionists of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.” --- Mario Garza  

Mario Garza (American, b. 1954)
The Alamo Mission
Mixed media on cold press watercolor paper
Signed
30 x 47 inches

The Works of Kathy Sosa
Kathy Sosa moved to San Antonio from Alabama as a child and immediately fell in love with the blended culture of the Texas-Mexico border region. After earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at St. Mary’s University, she spent years in advertising and political consulting. Kathy began her life as a painter during her late 40’s and embraced the artistic expressions of the Mestisaje culture. Her work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Latino Center in Washington D.C. and regionally in Texas; it has also been featured on CNN and in various publications.

“Everything in my body of work is about the Mestizo culture that I live in, and I would like to bring to people’s attention to the very cool things about the blended culture in the Texas-Mexico border land… It’s a distinct culture of its own” ---Kathy Sosa

Found Objects Series
In this series, Kathy Sosa takes found objects and reproduces them then adding in her own marks.  The found object can begin with a tiny bit of novelty fabric, which is digitally enlarged many, many times and reproduced as a background to her hand painted portraits.

Kathy Sosa (American, b. 20^th Century)
Mariachis on my Mind, 2009
Archival pigment on watercolor paper with hand gilding
Signed, dated, inscribed with “Mariachis Found Objects Series, gilded” on mat l.l.
33½ x 24 inches

Joe R. Villareal
El Icecrinero 
Papier Maché
56.125" X 28" X 41.5"

Lionel Sosa

Portrait of Henry Cisneros

Oil on Canvas

60" x 40"

The Works of Nan Palmero

Nan Palmero, A&M-SA’s previous associate director of Marketing and Communications, visited Prague, Czechia in October 2009, where he fell in love with the city and found himself frustrated with the inability to capture its beauty through his camera lens. In December 2009, he began his self-taught study of photography and its principles via online video tutorials and practice around San Antonio. As his mastery of this hobby has grown, Nan has been recognized by Getty Images and Samsung USA as the Imagelogger Photographer of the Year for the U.S.A., he’s been a judge for international photo contests and his photos have been used in publications globally.

Nan Palmero
Chase the Rainbow
Photography

The Works of Nan Palmero

Nan Palmero, A&M-SA’s previous associate director of Marketing and Communications, visited Prague, Czechia in October 2009, where he fell in love with the city and found himself frustrated with the inability to capture its beauty through his camera lens. In December 2009, he began his self-taught study of photography and its principles via online video tutorials and practice around San Antonio. As his mastery of this hobby has grown, Nan has been recognized by Getty Images and Samsung USA as the Imagelogger Photographer of the Year for the U.S.A., he’s been a judge for international photo contests and his photos have been used in publications globally.

Nan Palmero
For the Living and for the Dead
Photography

The Works of Nan Palmero

Nan Palmero, A&M-SA’s previous associate director of Marketing and Communications, visited Prague, Czechia in October 2009, where he fell in love with the city and found himself frustrated with the inability to capture its beauty through his camera lens. In December 2009, he began his self-taught study of photography and its principles via online video tutorials and practice around San Antonio. As his mastery of this hobby has grown, Nan has been recognized by Getty Images and Samsung USA as the Imagelogger Photographer of the Year for the U.S.A., he’s been a judge for international photo contests and his photos have been used in publications globally.

Nan Palmero
A Life in the Darkness
Photography

The Works of Nan Palmero

Nan Palmero, A&M-SA’s previous associate director of Marketing and Communications, visited Prague, Czechia in October 2009, where he fell in love with the city and found himself frustrated with the inability to capture its beauty through his camera lens. In December 2009, he began his self-taught study of photography and its principles via online video tutorials and practice around San Antonio. As his mastery of this hobby has grown, Nan has been recognized by Getty Images and Samsung USA as the Imagelogger Photographer of the Year for the U.S.A., he’s been a judge for international photo contests and his photos have been used in publications globally.

Nan Palmero
Amigos de la Antorcha
Photography

The Works of Nan Palmero

Nan Palmero, A&M-SA’s previous associate director of Marketing and Communications, visited Prague, Czechia in October 2009, where he fell in love with the city and found himself frustrated with the inability to capture its beauty through his camera lens. In December 2009, he began his self-taught study of photography and its principles via online video tutorials and practice around San Antonio. As his mastery of this hobby has grown, Nan has been recognized by Getty Images and Samsung USA as the Imagelogger Photographer of the Year for the U.S.A., he’s been a judge for international photo contests and his photos have been used in publications globally.

Nan Palmero
River Trailblazer
Photography

The Works of Nan Palmero

Nan Palmero, A&M-SA’s previous associate director of Marketing and Communications, visited Prague, Czechia in October 2009, where he fell in love with the city and found himself frustrated with the inability to capture its beauty through his camera lens. In December 2009, he began his self-taught study of photography and its principles via online video tutorials and practice around San Antonio. As his mastery of this hobby has grown, Nan has been recognized by Getty Images and Samsung USA as the Imagelogger Photographer of the Year for the U.S.A., he’s been a judge for international photo contests and his photos have been used in publications globally.

Nan Palmero
The Offerings

Joe R. Villareal

El Icecrinero

Oil on Canvas

48" x 60"

The Works of Joe R. Villarreal

Joe R. Villarreal (American, b. 1953)
Las Mañanitas de Mi Madre
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated ‘2002’, l.r.

It is customary in the Mexican-American tradition to serenade one’s mother on Mother’s Day or her birthday.  Mariachi’s arrive very early in the morning to sing her the start of a beautiful day with “Las Mañanitas”.  It is the artist’s belief Mother’s Day should be celebrated all year long.  The painting is a gift to all mothers.