Art Exhibit Features Works by the Late Alfredo Bustinza

A total of 22 paintings by the late Alfredo Bustinza are on display through Sept. 30
in the Lucretia C. Begley Art Gallery.

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- An exciting exhibit of paintings by an artist who lived in Adair County is on display through the end of September at Lindsey Wilson College.

A total of 22 paintings by the late Alfredo Bustinza are on display in the LWC Lucretia C. Begley Art Gallery, which is located in the W.W. Slider Humanities Center, 155 Blue Raider Drive.

"I don't think we've ever had anything like it in the past," said LWC Professor of Art Tim Smith, who also directs the Begley Gallery. "To me, it's real exciting to have someone who has strong credentials and experience, and it's also exciting because it's style of art very uncharacteristic of what you'd expect to see in Southcentral Kentucky."

Bustinza was born in Texas, and he worked in several U.S. cities. He came to Adair County in the early 2000s. He died in 2005.

Born in 1957, Bustinza had his first exhibition at the age of 18 in Houston. After earning a bachelor's degree from Texas Tech University and then a master's degree from Rutgers University, Bustinza's work was featured in dozens of exhibitions throughout the United States.

Bustinza's work was recognized by a number of the world's more renowned institutions. He was nominated for "Awards in the Visual Arts," sponsored by the Equitable Life Insurance Society, the Rockefeller Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. He was also a recipient of an artistic grant funded by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and another grant financed by the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 1997, Bustinza's work was archived into the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. as a part of a permanent collection of the American artists who were given NEA grants.

Bustinza's 22 pieces on exhibit at LWC reflect expressive figuration that is a part of contemporary art trends.

"His work emphasizes expression more than a narrative in a conventional sense," Smith said. "These are rich narratives, but it's done so in a way that I think it could be argue than merely illustrating pretty pictures."

Influences of some of the 20th century's leading artists such as Golub, Pollack Warhol are also evident in Bustinza's 22 pieces. One of the pieces was created in response to Eric Fischl's "Then and Now" series, which was inspired by the events of 9/11.

"You look around and you see names that are familiar in the art world today, especially with this type of post-modern figurative expressionism that is characteristic in his work." Smith said. "All of that is like a composite that is put together in his individual style."

Smith said he was not familiar with Bustinza's work until the late artist's step-granddaughter Abby Gaskins brought his work to her attention. After talking to Bustinza's widow, Norma Gaskins, Smith arranged the show.

"It's an exciting show," Smith said. "There are things in here that are very instructive to students, but they are also very appealing to the casual observer as well."

Alfredo Bustinza's 22 painting are on display through Sept. 30 in the Lindsey Wilson College Lucretia C. Begley Art Gallery. Gallery hours are from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. CT Monday-Friday. For more information, contact LWC Professor of Art Tim Smith at smitht@lindsey.edu or (270) 384-8079.