Paintings by visual arts faculty member Orlando Leyba have been selected for a two-man show at TAFKAJ Gallery in Geneva, Switzerland. The show, Opus 15: Profusion, runs September 13 to November 3, 2013.
Paintings by visual arts faculty member Orlando Leyba have been selected for a two-man show at TAFKAJ Gallery in Geneva, Switzerland. The show, Opus 15: Profusion, runs September 13 to November 3, 2013. The second artist is Lyle Kissack of Baltimore. Leyba and Kissack both attended the Maryland Institute, College of Art, MFA (Mount Royal School) graduate program, finishing in 1989.
“My work is the result of overlapping cultures, languages, and mores,” says Leyba, a native of Chimayo, N.M. “These influences and experiences are distilled into shape, color, emotion, and movement. At times they are neither solid nor fluid; they are ephemeral and rooted in human experiences — well intentioned, cyclical, and inherently flawed. These compositions are derived from nature, custom cars, family and cultural dynamics, petroglyphs, art history, the flotsam of childhood memories, and an otherwise endless supply of imagery and stimulation from the mass media. These paintings meld the contradictions and dichotomies that I have witnessed in my own culture and within my hometown, as well as concepts about time, the spirit world, human interaction, and the diversity of factors that influence change that we witness in the world from day to day.”
In describing Leyba’s work, Andrew Connors, Curator of Art of Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, says, “Orlando Leyba paints what at first glance appear to be pure abstractions; however, his richly colored and textured forms and shapes are loaded with personal, cultural, regional, and universal symbolism. Thus his paintings reward the viewer richly and differently each time they are pondered. Similarly, he does not limit himself to one medium; instead he lays in most of his works with acrylic, casein, pencil, colored pencil, charcoal, ink, and collaged media. The archeological excavation of these surfaces becomes an intellectually rewarding examination of the power of mark making. Perhaps most noticeable about his work is the all-American boldness of form and powerful expression of color.”
Orlando has held numerous exhibitions throughout the U.S., and has permanent collections on display in the New Mexico State Capital, National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque Sunport, and Salvadore Scarpitta, New York.