From top, "El Prisionero," "Mi Reina" and "El Ridiculo"

Joan Grona Gallery hosts surreal painting exhibit by Liliana Wilson Nov. 4-27

(Oct. 26, 2004)--The Joan Grona Gallery presents "Universos Divinos," an exhibit of acrylic paintings by Liliana Wilson, Nov. 4-27 at the Blue Star Contemporary Art Center. The exhibit is curated by UTSA art specialist Arturo Almeida. An opening reception, free and open to all, is 6-9 p.m., Nov. 4.

A native of Valparaiso, Chile, Wilson grew up there in the 1950s and 1960s with few financial resources. She developed her drawing skills at an early age, receiving no formal art training until years later. The unstable economic environment at home led her to study law in the early 1970s at University of Valparaiso, where she cultivated a deeply imbedded sense of justice, coinciding with dramatic political changes in Chile following the election of Salvador Allende. Steering clear of much of the political debates, Wilson moved to the United States in 1977 to create a new life and study art at Southwest Texas State University.

Her early work processed the trauma she witnessed in Chile, but she gradually turned to exploring the feelings of being an outsider and of being caught between Chilean and American worlds. Her experiences are reflected in surreal paintings laden with tragedy and pending doom.

Wilson uses beauty to lure in viewers and create empathy, and then introduces startling features such as a floating eye, hollow torso or red fish. Her subjects are often young, alone and in trouble. While many of her earlier paintings grapple with human struggle and vulnerability, newer works portray a shift to a more joyful, hopeful outlook with luminescent reds and blues, blooming flowers, the nude female figure and intense intimacy. She displays an evolving spiritual sensibility based on peace, few material possessions and a more confident existence.

For more information, contact the Joan Grona Gallery, Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, 112 Blue Star, at (210) 225-6334 or Arturo Almeida at (210) 240-9942. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday and noon-4 p.m., Sunday.

--Tim Brownlee