By Anaiah Liserio
President Maria Hernandez Ferrier announced Feb. 14 during a press conference at the Spanish Governor’s Palace, 105 Military Plaza, the opening of an education-focused art exhibit at Main Campus Building.
The exhibit “Picasso, Amigos y Contemporáneos” includes 70 original pieces by Pablo Picasso, half of which have never before been viewed outside Spain, Ferrier said.
“The exhibit will focus on introducing, educating and making accessible great works of art to the entire community by being free and open to the public,” Ferrier said.
The exhibit will open with a black-tie gala 7 p.m. March 16 at Main Campus. The free exhibit will run from March 17 through May 20 at Main Campus, ending with a formal closing event in May.
Proceeds from the black-tie gala will support University students with extraordinary needs, Ferrier said.
The exhibit will showcase works by Picasso alongside works by friends, teachers and contemporary master artists such as Salvador Dali and George Braque, according to a University Communications press release.
A total of 97 works will be on view, including contemporaries Horacio Lengo, José Denis Belgrano, Picasso’s friends Ricardo Opisso, Tsuguharu Foujita, and teachers Antonio Muñoz Degrain, Jose Moreno Carbonero and Joaquin Martinez de la Vega.
Artistic highlights include several Picasso ceramics made by a company in San Antonio; a large piece in platinum by Salvador Dali; and a unique example on which Picasso drew on two sides of the same sheet of paper.
Other forms of media include engravings in stone, lithographs, bronze sculptures, sculptures in gold, oil paintings on canvas, drawings on paper and watercolors.
As arranged, the selection has not been shown in the United States. However, related Picasso exhibits from the collection of Javier Fructuoso Medina, including the “Picasso, I Alone” exhibit were on view from Oct. 14 to Dec. 18, 2011, at the Tremont House in Galveston, Texas.
In addition to the Picasso exhibit, viewers can view a historic panel display on the life of Bernardo de Gálvez. The piece, Ferrier said, will educate viewers on the roles between Texas and Spain in world history and art.
Like Picasso, Gálvez was born in Málaga, Spain. In 1779, during the Revolutionary War, Gálvez responded to a plea by George Washington and assisted by supplying his army with 10,000 head of cattle from the land where Texas A&M-San Antonio now sits.
Visitors will walk on the same ground where those cattle grazed and will learn about “Texas’ role as a Spanish policy from a special history exhibit on the first floor,” Ferrier said.
Remarks on the value of the exhibit were made by Mayor Julian Castro and District 3 Councilwoman Leticia Ozuna in the outdoor courtyard of the Spanish Governor’s Palace.
People “won’t have to go to Madrid or Barcelona to enjoy Picasso. They can enjoy it right here at Texas A&M in our city, and the entire community is proud of the effort,” Castro said, adding that it was fitting that the announcement was made at the Spanish Governor’s Palace.
“This Picasso exhibit is going to be a fantastic accelerator in terms of A&M’s profile, so it’s a big win there, but it’s also a big win for our city,” Castro said.
San Antonio is a city of now 1.3 million people, a place that is very culturally rich itself, whose ties to Spain are fundamental and very strong in relationships today, he added.
Castro thanked City Manager Sheryl Sculley; Felix Padron, director of the office of cultural affairs; and Ozuna for their assistance in making the exhibit possible.
“This tradition can be seen as symbolic of the tremendous diversity of the South Side of San Antonio,” Ozuna said. “More important, this groundbreaking exhibit epitomizes the possible innovation and transformation of our part of the city.”
Art above all is a source of inspiration, hope and possibility, Ozuna said.
Ferrier gave thanks to Castro, Ozuna, City Council Liaison Jed Maebius, Felix Padron and Sheryl Sculley for their support.
A special thanks was given to the Picasso task force including historian and educator Sylvia Sutton.
Sutton, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and Spanish National-International Task Force, was recognized by Ferrier as a key figure in bringing the Picasso exhibit to San Antonio.
“Thank you so much for being here and sharing this moment,” Sutton said, adding she and others worked on the project for over one year.
Sutton introduced members of collaborative organizations including, Jack Cowan, executive director of the Texas Connection of the American Revolution Association (TCARA) and governor of the Granaderos y Damas de Gálvez, RoseMarie LaPenta, president of TCARA and secretary of the Granaderos y Damas de Gálvez, Joel Escamilla, national governor of the Granaderos y Damas de Gálvez, and Judge Edward F. Butler Sr., national president of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Members of TCARA, and Granaderos y Damas de Gálvez will be on the first floor at Main Campus in period clothing to docent portions of the exhibit.
Ferrier also announced the launch of a website, www.tamusa.tamus.edu/picasso which includes a collection fact sheet and reservation instructions for school groups to tour the free exhibit.
In preparation of the exhibit, the Office of the President has asked the campus community “not to conduct any special events and/or meetings at the Main Campus for the week of Spring Break 2012 (March 12-18).”
Rooms 204/207 will not be available to reserve during the entire two months the exhibit will be on the campus because they are being used as exhibit space.
