Biography of artist Valdis Garoza

Valdis Garoza

Drawings, Acrylics, Mixed Media, Monoprints

Bachelor of Art in Studio Art, State University of New York at Albany
Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

I moved to Albuquerque in 2002 after teaching at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio for 29 years. Working for an art department in a small liberal arts college results in one having to teach a variety of subject areas, and so I taught printmaking, drawing, life drawing, illustration, design, stained glass and photography. I also served as chair of the art department for 13 years.

My wife, Missy, and I vacationed in New Mexico for five years, fell in love with the state, and decided to relocate when one of us found a suitable position out here. She scored first with a bookstore manager position and I am now serving at UNM-Valencia as a senior academic advisor.

I always drew a lot. In college I fell in love with printmaking, specializing in etching. I also liked to paint with acrylics and watercolor. So, being by nature somewhat short on attention span, I got to accept the notion that it was all right to move around in all of these media as I wished.

I discovered that I could enjoy the same freedom in my choice of subject matter. I have enjoyed landscape, interiors, figures and other representational subjects for a long time and have rendered them in a realistic style for most of my life. New Mexico inspired a change from the realistic approach to one that is more subjective. The colors, textures, patterns, sense of space, and the old civilizations have all conspired to change my artistic direction. Among the many things that fascinate me here are the sense of history and the presence of distant cultures. The petroglyphs have left their mark on my imagination and have provided a source of ideas for my most recent work. I do not attempt to copy any that I have seen because I do not want to steal images from the cultures that created them. However, I do try to invent my own enigmatic figures that suggest things without a clear explanation.

Much of my work is invented or created from memory. It also grows out of an interplay with the colors and shapes that emerge from the printmaking, drawing, and painting processes. I like the uncertainty that comes from my way of working, and I hope that walking on the edge of discovery, disaster, or something in between will keep my work fresh.

Photographs by Valdis

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