Oliverio Balcells is a scholar of the ancient Mesoamerican
cultures, photographer, painter and self-taught musician. He is a native of
Guadalajara, Mexico and moved to Arizona in 1999.
He creates Mexican contemporary art. “I’m interested in
social themes like history, human potential development and nature. I use
self-expression to inspire people in the present moment. My influences stem
from ancient Mexican manifestations, Wixarika (Huichol) art, and the Mexican
master muralists.”
In 2016 he was a selected artist for the In Flux Cycle 6
for the City of Tempe to paint a mural on Apache Blvd. In 2012 he was selected
by the City of Tempe Public Art Program to design and paint a utility box on
Mill Avenue. The image was also made
into a library card for the City of Tempe. In 2008 Oliverio was awarded First
Place at the Arte Latino en la Ciudad XII at the Phoenix Center for the Arts
and in 1999 he was awarded Best Artist in the 7th Annual Plastic Arts Exhibit of
Cancun.
His work has been featured as a cover for a book from the
author Ruth Gomber-Munoz, Ph.D., titled Labor and Legality: An Ethnography
of a Mexican Immigrant Worker, published by the Oxford University Press,
Inc. in New York City.
He
has done several workshops for Xico Inc’s cultural arts program for youth, CALA’s
Diego Community Arts Program with Childsplay as an artist in residence in
schools throughout Phoenix, created a community garden mural with Free Arts of
Arizona and their Professional Artist Series at the Challenger Middle
School. He has also been a teaching
artist with Arizona Commission on the Arts, creating a portable mural with the
students of Mercury Mine Elementary School in Paradise Valley, Arizona and
recently participated in an interactive workshop called the “Eagle Sun in
Motion” at the Community Arts Gathering in Ajo, Arizona hosted by the
International Sonoran Desert Alliance
Oliverio Balcells received his Bachelor’s degree in Graphic
Design from the Univa University in Guadalajara, Mexico.
He currently lives and works in Tempe, Arizona, USA with
his wife and two children.
His native language is Spanish and English is his second
language.
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