San Antonio Travel and Leisure Guide 2007 - Spanish - (Page 50)

ARTIST IN FOCUS ARTS Left:Internet Painting Center: The Feeding of Wha les Franco Mondini-Ruiz The art world is taking notice of the idiosyncratic vision of this locally grown artist. Artist Franco Mondini-Ruiz’s pieces, which mix South Texas references with dreamlike backgrounds, almost always feature bold subjects, whether still life – or life itself. His sculptures, combining found objects (like pan dulce and 1950s ceramic figurines) reveal an intense and quirky style that charms audiences. His sense of humor and his ability to marvel at the ordinary allow for a new perspective. “Art shows us we have more in common than we realize,” he says. Indeed, Mondini-Ruiz himself is a bold subject and no stranger to uniting diverse audiences. The oil paintings and kitschy sculptures of today suggest Mondini-Ruiz is as dynamic a subject as he is daring, with a colorful past that reflects the sense of whimsy and adventure infusing his paintings. While still a corporate attorney 20 years ago, Mondini-Ruiz became famous for throwing fabulous parties that hinted at the artistic talent that would later earn him international praise from the likes of New York’s Whitney Biennial and the American Academy in Rome. His sculptures and artwork, created in his free time, were often the centerpieces of these parties, which brought debutantes and artists and corporate types together. 50 “That’s when I realized what I needed to do I wanted to bring people together and I realized I could do this through art,” he recalls. Shortly thereafter, Mondini-Ruiz left his career in law with the intent of creating art. He ended up purchasing a botánica, but it became more than just an apothecary with herbs and candles for sale. Mondini-Ruiz turned the place into a piece of art in itself, and his earliest installations were comprised of small found objects, curiosities that he sold for very little. His artistic instincts – and his legal background – would prove universally appealing. At the botánica, “Little old ladies would come by for herbs and I’d give them legal advice,” he laughs. So popular was the botánica, a curator from San Antonio’s esteemed Artpace asked Mondini-Ruiz to recreate it inside of the facility, where, as a living piece of art, it still stands today. Mondini-Ruiz also designed the gift shop of the newly opened Smithsonian Museo Alameda. His design will include display cases from Casa Mireles, the downtown botánica that he first worked on and ran. http://www.visitsanantonio.com

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San Antonio Travel and Leisure Guide 2007 - Spanish

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