: July 11, 2009 through August 1, 2009 :
Growing up making murals changed the way I think about how and why I make art. Like murals, my paintings tell stories of people who go unrecognized .The title of the show is “This is my neighborhood”. My home is in walking distance from the gallery, I remember visiting 1906 Gallery as a teenager and always wanting to put my work on Andy’s walls. I loved the space but I could never relate to the work or the artists who exhibited there. This exhibition is very significant to me because I am painter that comes from this neighborhood. These paintings are about letting the neighborhood come into the gallery, and hoping the neighborhood sees itself being represented through my paintings.
Ruth Buentello is an interdisciplinary artist and public artist with a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in Chicago Illinois. She has exhibited at various spaces in Chicago and San Antonio like the Art Institute of Chicago, Mestizaje Gallery Southwest school of Art ands Craft, UTSA Gallery, Mattie Rhodes Gallery, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. Her background in community murals began at the young age of 16 with San Anto Cultural Arts. As a public artist she has worked collaboratively on projects with artists Cruz Ortiz, and Alex Rubio. In 2007 she worked as artist assistant to several mosaic projects with Chicago Public Art Group in Chicago .In 2008 she was lead artist in restoring a Westside community mural Una Mesa Para la Gente that involved organizing workshops on mosaics and working with community youth. She hopes to continue to expanding on her experience and skills as an artist. She is now the current Community Mural/Public Art Coordinator for San Anto Cultural Arts.