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>> MEET INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN FIDEL GARCIA--HE'LL BE IN STAFFORD ON SATURDAY
Fidel Garcia Figurative Expressionism art show this SaturdayDate published: 11/5/2009
When Fidel Garcia paints, he's doing more than stroking a canvas with a brush. He's conducting a symphony of imagery with a baton. He brings together styles that most would expect to clash--and does it so masterfully that he evokes sweet visual music. The art of the self-taught Mexico City native, whose father recognized his son's gift when he was 7, blends figurative realism and abstract expressionism. The internationally known artist--who will give a show Saturday night hosted by Stafford County collectors Tia and Robert Cadow--said in a telephone interview that figurative expressionism "is a visual language blending figurative realism and abstract expressionism, usually considered antagonistic. "I believe they can work well together," he added. "For me, it is the best way I can express the human drama--its dreams and questions, its mysteries and beliefs." Garcia has gone from being self-taught to teaching art at a university in Mexico City and giving workshops at El Barrio del Artista Puebla. More important than instruction, he said, is developing students' self-confidence. And most important, he said, is the student's own "hunger" to create art. "No matter how good or bad the teacher, if you are a good student you certainly will find all the answers to your questions and goals," he said. "My father and my family gave me the self-confidence to paint. He always showed people my work and he was very proud of me. But he didn't believe that art as a profession was enough for living. So he suggested I learn to be a manager in his factory and at the same time grow as an artist. "There wasn't enough time to attend an art academy." So Garcia learned on his own from art books. "Nowadays, I'm recommending students attend the art academy, but with a spirit of being self-taught, meaning staying hungry for knowledge." Garcia believes there is a great deal of untapped artistic talent in the world, but doesn't blame governments for not funding art programs in schools. He says people must look inside themselves. "Talent is not a skill to develop. It rather is a spirit to be free from ignorance to discover his own value to develop the creative soul of each student. Everybody is a potential artist." He said the key to his art is maintaining what he calls his "childhood spirit," which in part involves the realization that "all I have is the present moment. Then I only have to focus on the present moment, and the rest of life goes well."
Read more stories about Fredericksburg Date published: 11/5/2009
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