Mario Uribe, artist
Since graduating from the California Institute of the Arts in 1971, Mario Uribe has worked as a full time artist in a diversity of media, ranging from animation, painting, printmaking, sculpture and public art. His studio work in the last three decades has been mainly influenced by his studies in Japan of traditional Japanese arts. He has exhibited widely in this country, Europe, Asia and Mexico. His works are included in the permanent collections of the Grunwald Center for The Graphic Arts, Los Angeles, The California Center for the Arts, Escondido, California, Laguna Beach Museum, Musee de L’Affiche and Musee des Arts Décoratifs, both in Paris, France, San Diego Museum of Fine Arts, Amerika-Haus, Berlin, Germany, The Sonoma County Museum, and others. In addition, he served 14 years as director of The American School of Japanese Arts, a nonprofit dedicated to the teaching and practice of traditional Japanese arts, as founding member and creative director of Artstart, a nonprofit educational arts organization dedicated to mentoring young aspiring artists, and as founder and president of Sonoma County Matsuri. Uribe has also worked on several projects in collaboration with the Sonoma County Museum; North South: Art as a Tool to Mediate Political and Social Conflict, Body Map Sorytelling Project, and Camellia Has Fallen: Contemporary Korean Artists Reflect on the Jeju Uprising. In the last three decades, Uribe has focused on creating culturally conscious public art that is directly associated with, and a reflection of a community. Besides his studio work and gallery representation, Uribe has been creating public art in a variety of mediums since 1978 and successfully managing projects with budgets ranging from $2,000 to $ 400,000 and consistently completing them on time. He was been Creative Director of Artstart for 18 years and has overseen hundreds of projects to completion and mentored as many young artists in the process.
Limited edition posters and prints
“The age of home-computer generated graphics had yet to blossom, maybe even begin in 1977, when I decided I needed to make a living on my own, with my art, and without depending on anyone else. I always liked poster graphics from the turn of the century (20th Century that is), so I set out to create posters of San Diego, where I was born, lived at the time, and was very familiar with local landmarks that people would recognize and would love to have around. I decided to design and hand silkscreen-print two images for the San Diego Zoo: a peacock and a tiger in a heavy outline style that would read easily. I made only 20 colorful prints of each, I also made an appointment with the San Diego Zoo purchasing agent. When I arrived at my scheduled appointment, the person I was supposed to meet was out to lunch and had forgotten I was coming. I returned home to my studio very dissapointed, but not defeated or angry. Instead, I packed up the two posters and put them in the mail. After all, who could resist the two beautiful images I had sent? Two days later, the purchasing agent called me and ordered 1,000 of each image. In the weeks that followed, I tried the same approach with the Old Globe Theater and the Aerospace Museum, all in Balboa Park; they both ordered 1000 of each and I was on my way. The first 12 images were all of San Diego Landmarks, and galleries and poster shops all over the county started selling them like hot cakes. One gallery in La Jolla introduced me to an LA publisher and then commissions from all over the country began to come in. In a five year period, I designed over 65 poster images, many of which are in museum collections and now sell for much more than originally. The last poster edition I printed was in 1985, almost 40 years ago. By then I had purchased a semi-automatic silkscreen press but all the artwork was created by hand, even the lettering and finest detail were done by hand. Young artists are amazed when they learn this, but I tell them I loved doing all the work by hand — I’m still doing it that way, although my work has changed a lot since then.”
Personal work: the Enso
Zen influence
“My love affair with Asian art was seeded during my childhood in Mexico – growing up in a home filled with Japanese art, which my parents had collected while living in Japan in the late1930's. The very first color drawing that I remember doing and signing my name to, was a landscape with Mt. Fuji in the background; I was five years old then, and that aesthetic continues to inspire me as an artist – except now, it is accompanied by a philosophy. After decades of conflict between a very formal Western art education (CalArts) and an even more formal immersion into traditional Japanese art, I have managed, in my own way, to reconcile the two. These two traditions influence not only the art I create but my entire life – in the most literal sense. My introduction to Zen Brushwork by my first teacher and friend, Kazuaki Tanahashi, as well as my studies at The Oomoto School of Traditional Japanese Arts in Japan – in particular the work of its founder, Onisaburo Deguchi, were instrumental in helping me make an important transition and have left a profound impression on me. Those encounters awakened in me a need to experience the process of creating my own work in a more spiritual way. Correspondingly, as an artist and human being, my work and I were transformed and acquired characteristics, such as mindfulness, compassion and acceptance – all of which were learned from creating art from a new perspective. This evolution was not a reductive process at all; the transition from the emotionally graphic and figurative work I was doing before, to the serene spontaneity and seemingly abstraction of a Zen circle or Chinese character is only visually drastic. The essence and spirit of creation remain the same. The physical, direct, and passionate components are still present; but in addition, there are also elements of joyous surprise, patience, fulfillment, healing, spirituality, acceptance, humility, simplicity, sharing, spontaneity, surrender, and the promise that something unseen will make itself present. This invisible expectation turns an ordinary work of art into a prayer. The process is one of growth and understanding – of deeper awareness and harmony. The results are manifested in my work, but more importantly, in my life. Working within the lure of two very diverse ways of expression and a continuously evolving body of work, I have found joy, harmony and tranquility in bringing these two worlds together in a way that makes sense to me. It is my spiritual practice. The result delights me, and kindles a sense of surprise at how well they fuse together, and how much they reveal about me.”
Artist’s statement: circles
“I understand now why people have been making circles since the beginning of time. I know now of the power of the circle. Making a circle alone in my studio or as a collaborative effort with other artists in a public place accomplishes a similar objective for me. In the studio I connect with myself. I understand, I grow, and I learn how important it is for me to connect with others in the public place and understand and grow and learn. The evolution of my work to its present state seems a natural transition to me. Before I began making circles, my work in the past five years dealt almost exclusively with the themes of war, injustice, and the environment. The main impetus being a strong compulsion to explore my own feelings and express them in a way which could touch or inspire others to examine theirs. I was interested in creating a visual mood which invited the viewer into active participation as he interpreted the combination of images and words from his/her perspective. I found that the more personal and subjective the reference is, the more poignantly it is interpreted by the viewer and the more cathartic and healing the experience becomes. Along with the exploration came an examination, or contemplation, of what our responsibilities are regarding the human consequences of our actions as a society. The goal oriented process of these mostly representational works was at once healing for me and the viewer. This analysis evolved from an awakening encounter with traditional Japanese arts six years ago. The circle, before then a mere geometric form in my visual stockpile, took on in the Zen circle, additional characteristics and symbolic meanings. The enso, or Zen circle, was introduced to me by my friend, Japanese artist Kazuaki Tanahashi. It was his work which inspired and influenced me. The process oriented Zen circle offered a new healing way to involve others. Correspondingly, as an artist and human being, my work was transformed and acquired characteristics learned from the circle and from my friend. While the individual circle in my studio provides an opportunity for self-expression and healing it is also the precursor and facilitator of the larger collaborative circle in which that same opportunity for healing is offered to a community. By including others in the realm of the circle as participants rather than spectators of the outcome, they partake of the process itself which is always more valuable. The transformation of my work is not a reductive process. The transition from emotionally graphic and confrontational charcoal drawings and paintings to the serene spontaneity and seemingly abstraction of a Zen circle is only visually drastic. The circle is "not an abstraction but an extraction". It is the essence. The black and white contrast is still present. The physical, direct and passionate components also exist in the circle. But in addition, there are also the elements of joyous surprise, patience, fulfillment, healing, acceptance, humility, simplicity, sharing, and unbridled energy, spontaneity and surrender. The process is one of growth and understanding – of deeper awareness and harmony. All of this in a circle – a universal symbol of unity, wholeness and inclusiveness. I'm surprised that everyone is not making circles every day; instead, we go around in them.”
About making circles
“When I work on these pieces, I approach and begin with an open mind, or rather, a ‘no mind.’ Not to suggest that these artworks are mindless, I would rather think of them as mindful instead. The circle of course, is the moment: unique, both void and complete, and fully alive.Those are also the qualities required to practice and create the circles themselves: to make them, and their meaning, a part of my work and my life, takes practicing them – over and over and over again. I have had many people tell me that the art piece they bought has become a sort of shrine in their home, a reminder to be a better person and a focus for their lives. Of course, I don’t think about any of these things when I work; in fact I don’t think much at all (no mind).I allow my instincts to do all the work, and I admit, take some joy in the always-miraculous outcome. Making a circle requires no special training, but it does help to practice ten thousand times.”
Thinking about art
“I’ve been giving some thought to why ART exists. You have all often heard me say in the past, and many times, that artists are important because they provide ‘civil’ factor in civilization. But Art is not just about painting a canvas or a mural, nor job training and mentoring, Art is driven by the very basic human need to create. What is this human need to create? Why do we create? I think we create art because we are alone within ourselves and we need to share our experiences with others. Art, words and pictures, music or dance, transcend time and space, preserving and communicating our ideas, our hopes and fears, adventures, sufferings, our loves and our joys. For thousands of years these forms of communicating have allowed us to bear witness to each other through the ages. Some art technology may be new and some old, but the message is the same, as is the need to share our experiences and aspirations with others – because others, give meaning to our lives.”
Working in the moment
Living in the moment: Uribe’s more than three decades of exploring the limitless possibilities of the Buddhist Zen Circle, or Ensô, has accorded him the mastership to create a similarly diverse art vocabulary that is testimony, if not evidence, of how unique each moment of our lives is, and how rare and remarkable it is to acknowledge and artfully express it – while pointing out how infrequently the rest of us pause to do so ourselves.
Important exhibits
2009: Zen Circle Revisited, solo exhibit, Sonoma County Museum
2008: Artspace C Gallery, solo exhibit, Jeju City, Korea
2003: Innovations in Printmaking, Sonoma Museum of Visual Arts
2002: A Good Impression: Century of Printmaking in San Diego San Diego Museum of Fine Art
1993: Circle for the World Performance/Collaboration, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois
1992: War Memorial solo exhibit, David Zapf Gallery, San Diego, CA
1981: Affiches Americaine Group invitational exhibit Galerie Artcurial, Paris France
Important collections
San Diego Museum of Fine Arts, San Diego, CA
Laguna Beach Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA
Musee de L'Affiche, Paris, France
Musee des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France
Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, Los Angeles, CA
Amerika Haus, Berlin, Germany
Major public art projects
“The Fan Game” 45' x 150' mural, San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, CA
“Spirit of San Diego” 80' x 210' Mural, Ramada Downtown Hotel, San Diego, CA
“Guardian of The Creek” 13’x6’ sculpture, Prince Greenway Park, Santa Rosa, CA
“Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Monument” Santa Rosa, CA
“Sonoma Farm Workers Mural” Elsie Allen High School Library, Santa Rosa, CA