Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick McGrath-Muñiz.
Patrick, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
Half Irish American, half Puerto Rican, I was born in New York in 1975 but grew up in the island of Puerto Rico. In 2003 I obtained a Bachelor’s Degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Fine Arts from the Escuela de Artes Plasticas in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I then pursued a Masters Degree (Suma Cum Laude) from the Savannah College of Art and Design, from where I graduated in 2006. After this, I lived for a time in Central America, Florida and Georgia before relocating with my wife, Blanca, to Houston, Texas. My wife, an architect, works at Gensler and this is main reason we moved to the city. For the past 12 years, I’ve shown my work in multiple galleries and museums across the US and abroad including Museo de las Americas, San Juan, PR, Museo Convento de las Capuchinas in Antigua, Guatemala, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Mesa, AZ. La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles, CA and the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, TX, The Jung Center, Houston, TX, The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, Albuquerque, NM and the Spanish Colonial Arts Museum in Santa Fe, NM. among many others.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
As an artist with a Roman Catholic background and growing up during the 1980s and ’90s in the island of Puerto Rico, the oldest colony in the Western Hemisphere, I’m inspired by universal archetypes present in Pop Culture, Christian Iconography and World Mythology. My work responds to our consumerist society and its indifference to ecological and social injustices by tracing its origins to the time of Columbus. Adopting painting techniques on canvas and retablos reminiscent of Spanish colonial art enables me to emulate earlier indoctrination strategies and devices from the time of the conquest of the Americas.
After experiencing Harvey in Houston, where I now reside, witnessing Hurricane Maria passing over Puerto Rico and Irma in Florida, where most of my family and friends live, the issue of Climate Change became even more personal. As an artist, I feel a responsibility to re-tell the story of climate change the way I know best, in drawings, paintings, and altarpieces. By appropriating figures and icons present in Art History, Pop Culture, Christian Iconography, and Mythology, I now create nautical scenes that mirror my own experience living in a world of stronger storms, hurricanes and floods.
What would you recommend to an artist new to the city, or to art, in terms of meeting and connecting with other artists and creatives?
I would advice submitting work for group shows and participating in as many gallery and museum events as possible if connecting with other artists is what you’re after.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My work can be found at the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, The Spanish Colonial Arts Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Mesa Contemporary Art Museum, in Mesa, Arizona as well as a number of private collections in the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Recent work can also be seen at Evoke Contemporary in Santa Fe, New Mexico, La Antigua, Galeria de Arte in Antigua Guatemala and at Heidi Vaughan Gallery in Houston, Texas. Besides the available work for sale at these galleries, I also work directly with special commissions and portraits.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4711 Aftonshire Dr. Apt B14 Houston, Texas, 77027
- Website: www.patrickmcgrath-art.com
- Phone: 9123064064
- Email: retabloarts@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/patrickmcgrathmuniz
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/patrick.v.muniz
Image Credit:
PLEGARIA (2017) Oil on canvas 24 x 24 inches. Available at Heidi Vaughan Gallery, Houston, TX
EL DESEMBARCO (2017) Oil on canvas 60 x 38 inches. Available
FIRE RABBIT (2018) Oil and gold leaf on panel 24 x 30 inches. Available at Evoke Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
MOM (2018) Oil and gold leaf on panel 24 x 30 inches. Available at Evoke Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
CRUZ Y FICCION(ES) (2018) Oil on canvas 42 x 80 inches. Available at Evoke Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
CORPUS CRUCIS (2018) 7 (12×12) oil and 23 karat gold on panel. Available at Evoke Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
SAUL GUATU (2018) Oil and gold leaf on panel 24 x 30 inches. Available at Evoke Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
TERRAM IGNORAMUS (2018) Oil on panel 24 x 36 inches. Available at Evoke Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
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