Opening Reception: “Whatever Happened to World Peace?” By Teodoro Estrada

The Beyond Arts Gallery is proud to present “What ever happened to World Peace” By Teodoro Estrada, an exhibition of Mix Media Art and Sculpture. Joining the exhibition, With Guests of Honor B.A.G. Board Member Donna Kirby of Bayview, Texas and catering by Franke Flav’z, Harlingen. The Public is invited to join Beyond Arts Gallery on Thursday, September 8, 2016 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for an opening reception. The Exhibition runs Sept. 8th - Nov 4th. “Whatever Happened To World Peace?” In the name of GOD, I rebuke all negativity… my spiritual faith and strength is the cup of java that gets me through the day. This body of artwork, a metaphor for goodness, is the pinnacle of positive experiences throughout my journey. I choose to dwell on the positive side of life. Mr. Chen my seventh grade teacher enriched my creative gift with a set of art books and a poster of “Guernica” Picasso’s response and depiction of the bombing of Guernica, a Basque country village in Spain by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italian warplanes. This mural size painting shows war time suffering and chaos. This image of pain and anguish helped shape my artistic thinking and ideals. On September 11, 2000 the world witnessed immense devastation. During my visit to ground zero in 2003 I witnessed enormous piles of rubble, twisted steel, the stench of devastation and lost life. This experience shook my core to obliviousness; this sense of being there but not there followed by excruciating emotional pain was not only overwhelming but incomprehensible. In 2004 during a Fulbright Memorial Fund institute to Japan: relatives of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors retold stories of their loss and suffering due to America’s atomic bombing devastation in 1945. Images of flattened cities were also incomprehensible. These experiences helped me understand Picasso’s Guernica and the power of art. In retrospect this poster was a premonition about who I would become and the ideals that would shape my art and life. In essence, this body of work rebukes the hundreds of wars past and present, hatred, greed, negative words spoken by humanity, way we mistreat each other and mother earth. The world celebrates International Day of Peace on September 21 st . Teodoro Estrada is a master artist and educator currently employed as Supervisor of Visual Arts with Brownsville Independent School District. He recently returned to the valley to pursue his long-term goals of acquiring a Master of Fine Arts Degree and reunite with family. Teodoro earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin, Technical Certificate in Art from the Art Institute of Houston, Master Certificate in Technology Applications from University of North Texas and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Texas Pan-Am. Teodoro attains two Fellowships from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Fulbright Memorial Fund Scholar. Teodoro has also volunteered and worked for FotoFest- Houston, served on the boards of Youth Advocates Houston, Lawndale Art Center Houston, Co-Chaired events for DiverseWorks Houston, presented numerous workshops at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, twice presented at the Texas Art Education Association State Conference in 2000 and 2004 and once at the National Art Education Association Conference 1996. Estrada’s short-term goal is to impact the arts community in Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley. Please join us for this exciting exhibition. Opening reception is free and open to the public.

For additional information please contact Jessica Salazar McBride at the Beyond Arts Gallery, 956-230-2859. We are located at 114 North A. Street, in beautiful Downtown Harlingen, Texas.