Carmelo Sobrino’s solo exhibition “Cielo, mar y tierra” [“Heaven, Sea and Land”] is on view at the Delta de Picó Gallery at the Liga de Arte [Art League] until April 26. Liga de Arte is located on Doctor Francisco Rufino de Goenaga Street, in front of the Quinto Centenario Square, in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The creative universe of Puerto Rican visual arts master Carmelo Sobrino is nourished by details that his curious gaze cannot help but detect, appreciate, and interpret on canvas. In the exhibition “Cielo, mar y tierra,” open from March 14 to April 26 at the Delta de Picó Gallery of the San Juan Art League, the artist captured moments inspired by two determining events in our recent history: Hurricane Maria and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The exhibition is composed of 12 paintings in acrylic that portray everyday scenes from the poetic and mischievous vision of maestro Sobrino. “[The works] are inspired by the landscape that my balcony offers me: sky, sea and land. The flies on the railing gnawing on the peel of a Chinese tangerine; further down the street, cars, people, motorbikes, butterflies, monkeys, pigeons, all the earthly fauna; and beyond the hill in my neighborhood, the sea, the Atlantic! Eagles, seagulls, pelicans, herons, airplanes, helicopters, insects… and all that supporting the blue and white of the sky,” the painter comments on the exhibition.
Sobrino was born in Manatí, and he grew up in the countryside, learning the trade and customs of his maternal grandparents. His grandfather was a peasant at the end of the 19th century, a folk musician, and farmer. His grandmother was an artisan, healer, and farmer.
“I learned in my early years to see and feel life, and also to listen to it. When I was six years old, I went to live in the town with my mother Trina and my brothers. Mami was a seamstress, she sewed her clothes, and it was customary to accompany her to buy fabrics. I had fun looking at all the prints,” says Sobrino about how he developed his taste for observing small things.
After graduating from high school, his interest in painting, drawing and other related disciplines led him to begin studies at the [then] School of Visual Arts of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (ICP). There, he was educated by artist-teachers of the stature of Fran Cervoni, José Alicea, Rafael Tufiño, Lorenzo Homar, Carlos Marichal, Luis Hernández Cruz, his friend Carlos Raquel Rivera, and Augusto Marín, among other greats of the plastic arts in Puerto Rico. Thanks to this education, he managed to polish his talent. His professional experience includes stints in Denver, Colorado; Mexico City; and having been the assistant of maestro Antonio Martorell, with whom he co-founded Taller Alacrán. This is why, among other things, Sobrino wanted to dedicate this exhibition to his teachers Carlos Raquel Rivera and Antonio Martorell. [. . .]
For more information, you may call (787) 725-5453 or visit Liga’s website, ligadeartesj.org. You may also visit @ligadearte on Facebook and Instagram.
Also see https://www.metro.pr/entretenimiento/2024/03/11/carmelo-sobrino-presenta-la-exhibicion-cielo-mar-y-tierra-en-la-liga-de-arte-de-san-juan/ and https://www.ligadeartesj.org/
Carmelo Sobrino’s solo exhibition “Cielo, mar y tierra” [“Heaven, Sea and Land”] is on view at the Delta de Picó Gallery at the Liga de Arte [Art League] until April 26. Liga de Arte is located on Doctor Francisco Rufino de Goenaga Street, in front of the Quinto Centenario Square, in Old San Juan, Puerto
