By eduardo rueda
Tania Alcala’s paintings are about finding the joy of being and freedom within herself. Her work is about experiencing consciousness and presence with the seduction of color with her brush strokes. She says that to her colors are living beings that call to her and sets the paints out in front of her and lets each color tell her which one to use next. She has learned over the years to trust her intuition with her artwork. . “We are all Super Stars here on earth and we are supposed to shine without reservations”, Tania expressed. She named her painting, “Super Estrella” (Super Star) for this reason.
Her artwork is presently being exhibited as part of the “Visual Language” exhibit at the RB Stevenson Gallery in La Jolla, CA. The exhibit runs from December 12th through December 30th. Her bright paintings really catch the eye. Tania is the only Mexican artist in this show amongst the six very accomplished participating artists, including the famed and iconic San Diego artist, Richard Allen Morris. Richard is an artist in his eighties who has dedicated his whole life to his art career and that has been an inspiration for Tania.
Tania was born and raised in Mexico City. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Ottawa University in Phoenix, AZ and a Master’s degree in Art and Consciousness and Transformative Arts from John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley, CA.
The sense of the ethereal that Tania Alcala discovered in the paintings of many artists like Mark Rothko, Yves Tanguy, Robert Rauschenberg, Hans Hoffman, William De Kooning and Eduardo Matta inspired her to take up flying. She took to the skies as a commercial pilot to seek the freedom she craved. While aviation offers mobility and a “heavenly” view of the world, the exacting, highly regimented aspects of that profession do not compare to the creative outlet she achieves as an artist. Growing up and living in Mexico for many years, played a critical part in Tania’s passion for color. She was mesmerized by the dramatic colors of the great muralists like David Alfaro Siqueiros, Rufino Tamayo, and Diego Rivera as well as the great folklore in the culture which include the enchanting Mexican markets.
She started out as a realist painter, but being in the Bay Area and especially, San Francisco, opened her eyes to abstract painting, and thus, a new way to express her art. She has done abstract work ever since.
Tania credits the American artist Julianna Poldi, and the German artist Christine Peirano for channeling her passion for color into Abstract Expressionism that freed her from the realism of her early teachers.
For Alcala, her passion for painting is the ultimate act of freedom, allowing contradiction, intuition, risk and exhilaration to come into play.
“Visual Language Holiday Art Show”
Where: R.B. Stevenson Gallery, 7661 Girard Ave., No. 201, La Jolla, CA 92037
When: December 12th – December 30th (opening reception December 12th from 5-8pm)
Hours are Tuesday-Saturday from 10:00 to 5:00
Closed Sundays and Mondays
Admission: Free
Phone: (858) 459-3917
Online:
www.TaniaAlcala.me
www.rbstevensongallery.com