ANTONIA GALLEGOS

A quiet view

Antonia Gallegos is a 58 yr old native of the Sonoran Desert region of Southern Arizona . Her mother and father were from the old Spanish settlements of northern New Mexico, and Spanish is her first language. Antonia is an intuitive sculptor who is essentially self taught. It wasn't until her fifties, after raising three children, that she had the opportunity to honor her inborn talent, and pursue her love of sculpture in earnest. Her figures of women are a natural extension of Antonia herself - feminine and strong.

“Due to economic need, we had to join the large number of migrant families, mostly Mexican braceros, who followed the harvest to make a living,” Antonia recalls. When her family settled in Southeastern Arizona , they built a small adobe house with the help of neighbors. The artist's earliest childhood memories were happy ones - among them, the delight she felt when she made her own toys from adobe clay.  “My upbringing was Catholic. I loved the paintings on the church walls, the pictures in our family bible, & the altar sculptures and I see the Catholic influence now in my art. ”    

Her sculptures have a powerful presence that is felt as much as seen by the onlooker. The pure simplicity of form she manages to achieve in her figures resonates with all those who see her work. And the work itself is a mestiza blend of Indian and Mexican influences, both primitive and sophisticated, earthen and elegant. One can't help but feel the ghosts of the old ones in Antonia Gallegos' figurative work. Her sculptures are a revelation in the contemporary world.

Valerie James, Artist (2006)