2004: Featured Hispanic Artist for the State of Florida

 In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month in September, the governor of the state of Florida selects an artist each year to exhibit artwork in the State Capital Plaza Gallery. In 2004 I was invited to be the Feature Artist during the month-long celebrations and activities. Apart from showing some of my most recent on-sight Florida landscape paintings, I decided to respond to the month's Hispanic-centric theme by also exhibiting a series works on paper that were clearly about specific Latino-themed motifs and imagery. The Translation Trance series was based on iconic, high art images from the “Old World”-Spain (Velazquez) and the “New World”-Latin America, but more specifically, by various images of Meso-American stylized figurative sculptures. Most of these Translation Trance works were produced in Austin, Texas as a visiting artist at Strike Editions and at Coronado Studio’s Serie Project.Note that many of the Translation Trance works are reproduced and explained in the publication Reflexciones: New Directions in Mexican American Studies, Neil Foley issue editor; published by CMAS UT Press 1997, cover image and p.71-76.Work from this series is also included in a book titled Triumph of our Communities published by Bilingual Review/Press Hispanic Research Center, Arizona State University, 1995. Both can be ordered on Amazon.comIn addition, my print Translation Trance: La Infant Teotihuacana (from Serie II-1995) can be seen at serieproject.org