Written by Vanessa Perez, Evelyn Martinez and Luis Arjona
Portraits by Deux Boheme
Meet Fine Arts Painter, Karen Dellinger
Abstractionist Karen Dellinger wears her heart on her sleeve. She wears it around her neck and fingers, within the layered gold jewelry sparkling in the reflection of the South Texas sun, each ring and chain carrying its own distinct story. She holds it in the same hand as her paintbrush, her pieces all lovingly crafted. Whether shown at curated gallery shows or in the living room of any one of her lucky clients, with just one look, viewers feel cleansed in the serenity of every canvas.
Meet Multimedia Artist, Gerald Lopez
At the end of Starr Street in downtown Corpus Christi sits a stairwell with painted walls offering a view beyond the veil. On concrete canvas, skeletons dance, ride bikes and play drums. This party of cartoon delight created with the help of homegrown muralist Gerald Lopez reflects the childlike energy his work has carried throughout his entire career.
“I made the face of a horse, a hat for the horse and I cut it out so it was a physical object,” Lopez said of his very first piece of art. “I didn’t really show it to anybody, but I liked having it around as something I created. I drew it, painted it, then cut it out as a 3D object. Start to finish, I did it by myself. I was so proud.”
Meet Multimedia Artist, Cassie Normandy White
“Reverent curiosity” is the term Cassie Normandy White borrows from teacher and indigenous seedkeeper Rowen White to describe the depths she seeks in living, working and simply being. From watching ants crawling in a tulip bulb as a child to staging seeds in the light of a microscope in her more recent works, White maintains a playful intrigue in the living beings that inhabit our world.
“What I’ve come to learn is [curiosity] is a form of nurturing the heart,” she said, waxing on the nature of her philosophy. “That idea is very unacademic, but it’s become increasingly central to who I am as a person and, by virtue of that, my work.”
Meet Sculptor, Greg Reuter
Walking into Greg Reuter’s studio is like entering an oasis. There is a massive dog sculpture as you enter, and though the piece embodies Reuter’s signature style, the sculpture makes you feel as though he’s the South Texas Jeff Koons. With decades in the Coastal Bend, Reuter has shaped his home and studio as much as he’s shaped the art scene in Corpus Christi. Stepping into his home gives insight into how the space is conducive to his ability to create. It’s molded by decades of creative rhythm and a commitment to his craft running as deep as the kiln burns hot.
Meet Fine Arts Painter, Elena Rodriguez
In the soft edges of her paintings, Elena Rodriguez navigates the feelings of awe, fear and beauty that British Romantics once called “the Sublime.” Walking a path illuminated mainly by the safety light worn on her chest—meant to steer off the dangers of oncoming traffic—she takes in the numinous images cast in darkness, grounded only by two large dogs and a keen sense of the natural precariousness that lurks in the night. Still, in the background of her panels are signs of life: a street lamp, a stop sign, a Toyota Corolla. The blended phenomena of primal fear and exceedingly human comfort are where Rodriguez chooses to linger.
