Nopalitos Galeria Presents:
Icons & Visions – Arnold Puentes
November 29th – December 28th, 2019
In Icons and Visions, the artists believe that by challenging our perceptions, new truths begin to emerge allowing ourselves to reflect on the past without prejudice, contemplate the present without bias, and perhaps project the future with greater optimism.
Co-hosts: Susan Austin and Iris Puentes
Facilitator: David Chavez
Art Ramble
Date: Friday, November 29th, 2019
Time: 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Artists Reception
Date: Saturday, November 30th, 2019
Time: 4 p.m. until 8 p.m.
About The Artist
Arnold Puentes was born in Silver City, New Mexico and spent his earliest childhood years in the nearby mining town of Santa Rita. He attended schools in Santa Ana, California and Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was first exposed to art at an early age by his father, and he credits his first art teacher and mentor in middle school for developing his passion for creating art. Arnold began his formal art training in high school. Awarded a Kiwanis scholarship to New Mexico State University, he undertook a painting major under the instruction of painter and muralist Ken Barrick, sculptor Ed Vega, and designer/painter Dr. Trini Lopez. In 1980 he traveled to Mexico City with the aid of a research grant to study methods, materials, and techniques of mural painting. He graduated from NMSU with a BFA in Painting in May 1981 and relocated to Albuquerque, and has since painted and produced several community/civic murals. His work has been shown at multiple art shows and at the Arizona Latino Art & Cultural Center (ALACC). The art is influenced by the great Mexican muralists and he sees it as primarily cultural but always “challenging the conventional”.