Arte y Amistad:John Gallegos

John M. Gallegos
(b. 1958)

Altar screen

After completing formal training in the arts at the University of New Mexico and the Colorado Institute of Art, John Gallegos found commercial artist opportunities weren't readily available. Instead he turned to a successful career in building homes and other jobs that challenged his creativity, yet he knew he had to do something that "Really, really made me happy-personally and spiritually." When visiting his brother Ron, he saw a retablo by artist Frank Alarid. Gallegos knew immediately that was what he wanted to do. "I was so inspired," he says.

Gallegos became a Spanish Market artist in 1997. That first year he received the Bienvenidos (Welcome) Award given annually to a new artist who shows exceptional promise. His prize-winning piece was a retablo of La Virgen de Guadalupe.
Gallegos creates as he goes and finds carving and painting retablos a deeply spiritual and reflective process. "I put my heart and soul into my pieces, most definitely." Among the many elements in his work, the artist's bold use of color and his precise details stand out. "I take as much time with the drawing as I do with the painting," he says.

Gallegos often depicts versions of Mary in his art. His individual style and technical expertise are evident in the two different renditions--one altar screen and one watercolor-- of Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepción (Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception) featured in Arte y Amistad.

Gallegos says he doesn't really collect anything, although he does have a number of works by fellow artists.

Our Lady of the
Immaculate Conception
Altar Screen
2001
sugar pine, natural pigments, gouache

More about this Artist on the web:

http://www.spanishmarket.org/awards

Selections from the Diane and Sandy Besser Collection of Contemporary Hispanic Art