Abstract Dialogues: The Artful Interactions of Ibsen Espada, Dorothy Hood and Dick Wray

William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art presents Abstract Dialogues: The Artful Interactions of Ibsen Espada, Dorothy Hood and Dick Wray on view September 2-24, 2016.

By the late 1960s, Houston was already a hotbed of Abstract Expressionism when an aspiring, young Ibsen Espada moved here from his native Puerto Rico to study painting and printmaking at the museum’s Glassell School.

There, Espada fell under the inspired direction and mentorship of Dorothy Hood and Dick Wray, two giants of the Houston art scene and prominent counterparts of the Glassell’s largess.  Working first as an assistant to Hood and then subsequently as protége to Wray, Espada played on personal genius parleyed with his super-charged interactions with two maestros to develop and refine a powerful personal style of abstract painting.

This show considers Espada’s bold and kinetic abstractions, showing them for the first time in proper context and dialogue with a selection of paintings and drawing from his distinguished mentors, Dorothy Hood and Dick Wray.

Abstract Dialogues:  The Artful Interactions of Ibsen Espada, Dorothy Hood and Dick Wray will be on view September 2-24, 2016 at William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art with an opening reception Saturday, September 10th from 6-8:30pm. The following Saturday, September 17th from 2-4pm, the gallery will host an artist talk featuring Ibsen Espada.

Pictured above: Ibsen Espada, Modern Quilt II, 2000, mixed media on paper on canvas, 60×48 inches.