Artist Ruben Galicia relaxes in his home studio. The large rectangular acrylic painting behind him utilizes metal washers and screws to give the work texture and “artificial life.” Photography by Christiaan Blok

Unlike many U.S. immigrants, Contemporary Mexican painter Ruben Galicia did not come of his own accord.

It was 1986 and Galicia had just graduated from high school. An earthquake the year before had caused major damage to Mexico City, and his widowed mother had lost her job in the ensuing economic chaos. She decided to move her family of five to the U.S.  

Galicia and his mother each worked two jobs, and Galicia learned English. As they slowly made a life for themselves, he began to pursue his long-suppressed desire to paint. By the late 1990s, the time was right. Galicia had married and settled down. He bought a dollar-store watercolor set and started experimenting with color. One of his first subjects was a sun, painted on a table that was a garage-sale find.

“It was so ugly, so bad,” Galicia recalls of his first piece. “But when I finished it, I felt so good.”

Over the next few years, Galicia painted in every spare moment. His small studio was soon overflowing with completed canvases of oils and acrylics. He decided to display some of his paintings at the Heard Museum’s cafe, which he managed at the time. Gina Laczko, the Heard’s director of education, was one of those who noticed his work.
“We invited him to join us at the first Spanish Market in 2001,” recalls Laczko. “He did very well there, and a lot of people started to see his work.”  Laczko coordinates the Heard’s Spanish Market, which celebrates Hispanic culture through the work of more than 75 artists. Galicia will be the signature artist at the 2009 event, scheduled Nov. 14 and 15.

Sacred Heart will be the signature work of the Heard Museum’s Spanish Market.Sandigni sciliquam dolobore feu faci Ibh end

In his paintings, Galicia employs aspects of Mexican culture with new interpretations. “I take traditional elements, like symbols used by the Aztecs, and try to refresh them,” he explains. Universal aspects of the human experience—love, death, life itself—are evident in his work. One painting, part of a series titled The Rhythm of the Machine, depicts a woman running. “She is trying to balance work and family, and she is always running to someone else’s rhythm,” the artist comments.

He prefers acrylics as his medium of choice, although he also utilizes oils. Colors are bold and vibrant in hues of blue, red, green and yellow. “I don’t mix too much color because when you mix, you lose the color’s brightness,” he notes.

With no formal training, Galicia has learned alongside the easels of other local painters. “He comes here [to the Heard] quite often to look at work other people are doing,” says Laczko. “Over the years, I’ve seen his innovations and seen him grow as an artist.”