ART THAT SPEAKS FROM THE HEART WITH RITA IRIARTE
Art lets Rita Iriarte say what is in her heart in a language anyone can understand.
“They say that an image is more than a thousand words,” Iriarte said during an interview October at the Arbor Gallery in Vankleek Hill. “I have been doing it (art) for 56 years now, and I think I’m finally getting good at it.”
Iriarte smiles and laughs at her modest comment. Now living in Chute-à-Blondeau, Iriarte has been exhibiting her bright and colourful works for 25 years. Ma raison d’être, on display at the Arbor Gallery until November 3, is her 123rd exhibition.
Originally from Venezuala, Iriarte explains how she fell in love with painting in 1963 while taking lessons in watercolour and kept on experimenting until 1975 when she experienced what she calls “my Japanese period” when geishas, shoguns, flower carts, and Mount Fujiyama flowed from her brush on satin sheets.
Over the years Iriarte has continued enjoying her experiments in styles and subjects, mediums and materials. She is comfortable painting children’s storybook characters and TV favourites for special party gift artworks or making a dream garden landscape bloom. She prefers working in large panels though now she is trying her hand at smaller works, including miniatures.
Most of her work, as seen on display in her Arbor Gallery exhibition, incorporates images, styles, and themes from her South American heritage. One piece, in particular, “Why? (Amazon burning)” is her lament and protest about the fires devastating the Amazon rain forest.
“My Venezuelan Amazon is burning,” Iriarte said, pointing at the image of the girl in the painting which represents the Amazon. “She is holding her pets, all the animals of the forest, asking ‘Why? Why are you burning my home?’”
Iriarte has a new project in mind that allows her once more to experiment with art. Heartbeats will feature a series of pieces portraying various types of music and musicians from around the world. She expects to have it ready for show in September 2020.