1997 Painting
Juan Alonso - 1997 Fellowship Recipient
Juan Alonso is a painter, printmaker, public artist, curator and arts activist. He has evolved a floral iconography which reflects his personal sense of spirituality and family history, as well as a fascination with the fragility of the living world.
Pat Decaro
Pat DeCaro describes her primary intent as a painter as the search for meaning in the complex relationship of individuality to object and environment. Through a process of juxtaposing and mingling images, DeCaro explores the boundaries of the conscious and subconscious and the paradox of public and private identity, and her recent paintings specifically address themes of female identity.
Joe Max Emminger
Joe Max Emminger is a self-taught artist who derives inspiration for his work from many sources. He cites a profound sense of curiosity and a continuing pursuit of surprise as the elements that keep his paintings fresh and lively, but cites his daily work with young people in schools, and the connection to "real life" it provides, as the true foundation for his work. "Every once in awhile, I connect with a child in some way that is rare and profound; I am looking for that ring of truth in my painting."
Randy Hayes
Randy Hayes' work is rooted in realism, but contradition and ambiguity are often the real subject of his painting. By skillfully depicting individuals and events occurring at the edges of the culture, Hayes introduces the viewer to a world of courage and fear, success and failure, the past and the present, the ideal and the imperfect, and many other weights and counterweights.
Samaj
Samaj describes his creative process as expressionistic, beginning at an unconscious level and resulting in a physical portrayal of the visions that inspire him. He pursues the areas of ritual, shapes and objects, and pure abstraction, striving for the simplicity and clarity this is central to his work. Samaj has always drawn inspiration from the dynamic synergy of group events. This inspiration is manifest not only in his painting, but in his involvement with performing and community arts as well.