| “ | My paintings and sculptures are visual poetic expressions of my emotions, feelings and desires. Using a combination of realism, symbolism and bright colors, I try to capture the sensual mystery of the concept. My pieces are illustrations of stories, poems, and personal obsessions. My computer and technical skills include MS Office 2000, Quark XPress, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, Dreamweaver MX, FrontPage, Flash, Fireworks, Anfy and other web building programs. I also do digital and fine Art Photography, Scanning, Prepress, and Color management. I have basic knowledge of HTML. I am a free-lance Graphic Artist with over twenty years experience working with many clients in the creation of web pages, company logos, posters, prints, flyers, call for entries, postcards and e-mail postcards, brochures, catalogs, advertisements, book illustrations and covers, magazine covers, CD labels, T-shirt and other souvenir items, children’s art pages, and Christmas cards. Mostly I am a seasoned art educator and work with mnay organizations such as ArtsStreet, Art Reach, Colorado Cultural Connections, Colorado Folk Arts, Citizens for Lakewoods's Future, Mizel Center for Arts and Culture, and Sister's of Color as well as neighborhood organizations. Currently I am the Art Teacher at La Escuela de Guadalupe in Denver. |
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Country: United States
Email: send letter
Site: www.arlettelucero.artistportfolio.net
Contact: 303-455-7354 2105 W. 33rd Ave. Denver, CO 80211
Biography:
| Arlette Lucero’ s testimony the power of the feminine By Renee Fajardo Arlette Lucero and Stevon Lucero are both painters. The North Denver couple is a powerhouse marriage in the art world. Stevon is a nationally acclaimed artist, known for his strong images of Aztec codices and metaphysical symbols. One might assume images of warriors and gods would over shadow the renderings of the feminine energy that Arlette is famous for. But one would assume wrong. Arlette Lucero’s depiction of all that is female is stunning, whimsical, pragmatic and breathtaking. Her pieces transcend time and space and create an otherworldly vision of women’s souls. Lucero’s work is a testimony to the extreme strength and the engulfing tenderness of the female energy. She blends the fluid beauty of the earth, air, wind, fire and water into a tapestry of contrast and compliments as she explores the raw energy of those we call mother, sister, daughter, comadre. To understand how this petite effervescent woman can conjure up such powerful images about females, it is necessary to understand her background. She is one of those eternally young; it is difficult to guise her age. She is constantly working or thinking about new projects. She is an avid reader and fully enmeshed in the happenings of her community. Lucero’s women, like her are busy with the business of the world. They are goddess of love, home, heart, health, religion and all other matters of this existence. They like her are also dark haired beauties that evoke a sense of wonder. Lucero says of her subjects, “I never intended my images to be of any race. I base them based on my feelings. I identify with their experiences. They are my sisters in a sense.” Lucero’s tenderness and affection for her paintings is illustrated in, I Am But A Dreamer. Done with a traditional South Western flair, this piece evokes a maternal image of an indigenous woman posed in a nurturing position. The colors are deep and earthy; the work shines with a tranquil serenity. A particularly whimsical piece, Splash Down is playful and thoughtful. Amidst a background of vibrant ochre and umber a jean caprice clad, tennis shoe wearing, cropped haired teen angel with vibrant blue and red wings is sprawled upon the ground. It is the universal image of a toddler who has just toppled over after trying to walk upright for the first time. Lucero is not afraid to combine ancient and modern concepts of femininity together. Her view that God is both female and male energy is evident in her work. It is this spirit of the female deity replenishing and nurturing the earth and the earth’s children, that conjures the strongest images from Lucero’s paints brush. A prime example of this is Coatlaxopeuh Guadalupe. The legend of the Virgin de Guadalupe visiting the Indian Juan Diego at Tempeyaca, Mexico is known by most Hispanic Catholics. The miracle occurred at a time when the indigenous peoples of Mexico, suppressed by the conquistadors, were also being persecuted by the church. The virgin’s apparition to an Aztec was a sign from the supreme mother to the world, that all her children were to be embraced and loved and treated with dignity. Lucero’s virgin is not the flowery delicate depiction of the Spanish, but a powerful image of an Indian princess. The Mexica virgin is dark skin and dark haired. She is dressed in the traditional robes of her people. She brandishes a staff symbolizing freedom and healing. As she steps on the stone serpent she and releases the old energy to make way for the new. Lucero is very thoughtful when she speaks of this painting. “ The Guadalupe symbol sizes healing. You must understand that at the time the virgin appeared to the Aztecs, they had been horribly persecuted by the church, prior to that there were Aztec priest who had also misconstrued the teachings of Quetzacoatl. You had two separate groups of people who had turned teachings about love and goodness into something they were not meant to be. There was a total denigration of the original message. This happens through out history with many religions. While the Aztec people did not understand the Spanish or their new religion, they did know and understand the virgin. She was god; she was not a graven image but the feminine energy of the godhead. The Aztecs readily embraced her and the Catholic Church understood clearly who she was also. This was a major turning point for the Aztecs. God had not abandoned them and the church realized that they were on notice of what was expected. It was a time of healing and releasing the old energy so that a new era could begin.” Lucero’s work is a passionate journey into the psyche of the female essence. She is both warrior and Madonna when she paints. Of her work she says. “My paintings and sculptures are visual poetic expressions of emotions, feelings and desires. Using a combination of realism, symbolism, and crisp bright colors, I try to capture the sensual mystery of the concept. My pieces are illustrations of stories, poems, and personal obsessions.” One of her greatest obsessions is to educate and mentor the youth of the community. She is a painter by profession but an art advocate at heart. She is a long time member of the Chicano Arts and Humanities co-op, she teaches classes and long-term workshops for both Art Street and Art Reach. This she says is her one of her true callings “ With so many schools cutting back on art education it is imperatives that we keep the creative spirit alive for our youth. We really can’t expect a balanced education with out the arts. The creative soul is important for our community as a whole. It is what opens up the dreams and visions of our future.” To contact Arlette Lucero call 303-455-7354 or visit her web page by accessing www.chacweb.com |
Chicano Humanities and Arts Council
Arlette Lucero
Stevon Lucero
 La Gorda |  Mushroom Tree |  Dragon Kitties |
 Six Days Before Christmas |  Always Waiting |  The Rage Within |
 Strange Cargo |  Keeper of the Tree |  Josh |
 Healing Angel |  Temptation |  Calaveras Ball |
 Tetzcatlipoca |  Papier Mache Collage |  Chili Today, Hot Tamale |