Steven A. DaLuz
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Steven DaLuz is a versatile artist with an eclectic sensibility, like Gerhard Richter. His interests are split between abstraction and figurative art. He is best known for figurative works that straddle impressionism and realism. He may be equally identified with abstract works that are landscape referential-—employing metal leaf, oil, and mixed media. DaLuz was born in Hanford, California, the son of an Air Force officer. From an early age, he was exposed to art in galleries and in publications, which fed his interest in drawing. DaLuz attended 13 schools in 7 states and 3 foreign countries by the time he graduated from high school. Throughout, he was inspired by art teachers, and by his own father, who painted recreationally. The cultures to which he was exposed spawned his varied artistic interests. After just one semester at San Antonio College, the Vietnam War interrupted his art studies and led to a long stint with the United States Air Force. While serving, Steve completed a BA degree in Social Psychology, an MA degree in Management, and raised three children with his wife, Donna. Throughout, he remained devoted to making art in his personal time. He produced many charcoal and graphite portraits, produced cartoons for the Base newspaper, designed organizational emblems, and developed a keen interest in figurative work. After living 13 years in other countries; Germany, Greece, Japan, Okinawa, and Korea, Steve retired from the Air Force, and engaged his lifelong passion for art by resuming his studies at San Antonio College. He completed the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree (Summa cum Laude) in 2003, with a concentration in painting from the University of Texas at San Antonio. There, he developed an interest in abstract work, with an orientation on the processes used to create such works. Still, DaLuz remained endlessly fascinated by the human figure--so he has chosen to create two separate and distinct bodies of work. The City of San Antonio selected DaLuz’s painting, “Dance of Fiesta” for its official Fiesta poster for 2007. His drawings and paintings are represented in private and corporate collections in 17 States and several foreign countries. Steve’s diverse influences are Rembrandt, John Singer Sargent, and contemporary artists Odd Nerdrum, Dan McCaw, Antoni Tapies, and Vincent Desiderio.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I have a love affair with paint—a medium that has often been much maligned in certain art circles over the past 20 years. With the advent of film, digital modes, and other photographic processes, many curators and critics seem to have relegated painting to an archaic, irrelevant art form. On rare occasion, certain elites will focus meager attention toward painting, and heap undeserved praise on the flat, banal, cartoonish iterations that do not come close to celebrating the enormous range of the medium. I reject their arrogance, and embrace painting as an exquisite, relevant art form. For me, the smell and physicality of paint is all at once seductive. In painting, I hope to tap into a slower time, before the existence of supercomputers and hundreds of cable channels. A time before art could be created by the mere manipulation of bytes and digital information. My goal is not to represent that time, but to bask in the materials and process that is painting. Many art lovers thirst for that which is still created by hand—that thing able to evoke a notion of aesthetic beauty for its own sake. I am one of those people. I am compelled to do work that conjures up a sense mystery and ethereal beauty, whether figurative or abstract. My interests are evenly split between the two, for which I make no apology. When intense observation takes its toll, I relish the opportunity to simply work with shapes, color, and textures to convey a particular mood or sense of place. Though I dabble in mixed media, paint remains the constant—a partner with whom I joyfully wrestle and dance. As an artist, I am in a constant state of flux—always searching for that immeasurable something that defines where I am in the moment. Throughout my search, I feel I am on the precipice of something new, intense, and spiritual. I ask for patience as I continue to reflect and learn, and as my work evolves.
- Steven DaLuz, August, 2007
SELECTED SOLO
EXHIBITIONS
- “Dance”,
AnArte Gallery, San Antonio (scheduled for December 2007)
- “Imaginary Places”, Monticello
Gallery, Fort Worth, 2006
SELECTED GROUP
EXHIBITIONS
- “Cataclysm &
Creativity: Art in the Age of
Uncertainty”, Museum
of
Contemporary Art,
Skopje,
Macedonia. (scheduled
for March 2008)
- “5 x 7”, ArtHouse, Austin, Houston, and Dallas, 2007
- “Group Summer
Show”, Buchanan Gallery,
Galveston, 2007
-
“Latino
Expressions IV: Artistas de San
Antonio”; San Antonio, 2007
- “Narratives &
Suggestions”, AnArte Gallery,
San Antonio, 2006
- “Attraction of Abstraction”, Art SA
Gallery, San Antonio, 2006
-
“Small Works for
a Big Cause”, Finesilver
Gallery, San Antonio, 2006
-
“3 Voices”, 1100 Art
Space, San Antonio, Texas, 2006
-
“Seventy-Two (Preview)”, Studio
3, San Antonio, Texas, 2006
- “Milestones”, Art SA Gallery, San Antonio, Texas, 2005
- Healing Today for Tomorrow, 1906 Art Gallery, San
Antonio, 2004
SELECTED JURIED EXHIBITIONS
- “Blue Star 21”, Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, San Antonio, 2006
- “76th
Annual Artists Exhibition”, San Antonio Art League Museum, San Antonio,
2006
- “San Antonio Painting 2005, Part II”,
Blue Star Contemporary Art Center, San Antonio, 2006
- “ Contemporary Art Month Exhibition”, San Antonio Art League, 2005
-
“REAL-TIME, Global On-line Art Annual of Contemporary Artists,
2005
-
“74th Annual
Artists Exhibition”, San Antonio Art League Museum, San Antonio, 2004
-
“Regional
Artists Consortium, Spring Exhibition”,
SanAntonio, 2004
-
“Surfaces”, UTSA Fall Exhibition. Gallery 357, San Antonio, 2003
- “Next”,
UTSA Fall Exhibition, Bismarck Gallery, San Antonio, 2002
AWARDS and
HONORS
- Painting selected for City of San Antonio’s
official Fiesta Poster for 2007.
- Honorable Mention
(International Diploma of Excellence).
Artoteque Global Art Annual, 2006.
- Contributor’s Award,
76th Annual Artists Exhibition, San Antonio, 2006
- Best in Show. Regional
Artists Consortium, Spring Exhibition, SanAntonio,
2003.
- Fainter Scholarship Award
Recipient, for Fine Art, San Antonio College, San Antonio, 2000
CORPORATE
COLLECTIONS
- Citigroup Headquarters, Houston, TX
- Whitestone Financial Group, San Antonio, TX
- Schell, Mitchell, &
Cooley, LLP, Dallas, TX
- Law Offices of Sean
O’Neill, San Antonio, TX
- Hermann Memorial
Ambulatory Center, Houston, TX
- Hermann Memorial Southwest
Heart & Vascular Institute, Houston, TX
- Johnson & Blohm
Associates, Inc., Houston, TX
SELECTED
PUBLICATIONS
- The American Artists Bluebook, www.askart.com
- The Current, May 30 – June 5, 2007,
P.16, Elaine Wolff
- ArtLies, Summer, 2007
- Living Artists, 15th
Edition, 2007
- Fiesta Magazine, 2007, P.10
- San Antonio Express-News, Stephanie Arias, Feb 20,
2007
- Fort Worth Weekly, “Imaginary Landscapes”, Oct 25, 2006
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram, , “The List!”,
Gaile Robinson, Sept 29, 2006
- San Antonio Woman, Jul/Aug 2006, P. B-31
- San
Antonio Express-News, (Culturas), “Pick Six”, Dan Goddard,
July 16, 2006
- Texas Monthly, “The Filter:
Selected Events”, July 2006
- La Prensa, “Blossoming Artists
Flaunt their “Milestones”, Nov, 2005
- UTSA Today, “Commencement Close-Up:
Energetic Vision, Life Experience Guide Art Student”, Dec 13, 2003
GALLERY
REPRESENTATION
AnArte Gallery
5800 Broadway, Suite 202
San Antonio, Texas 78209
(210) 826-5674
Buchanan Gallery
220 25th Street
Galveston Island, TX 77550
(409) 763-8683
EDUCATION
BFA, Painting (Summa Cum
Laude). University of Texas at San Antonio, 2003
AAS, Graphic Design, San
Antonio College, 2001
MA, Management, Central Michigan University, 1981
BA, Social Psychology, Park
University, 1979
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