Visual artist specialized in painting, a law degree, was born in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico on December 28, 1967. Self-taught, Mexican, Yucatecan and living in Merida, with 5 solo exhibitions and more than 20 collective, was member for five years of "Blue Spiral 1" Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina, EU With a 15-year career in the visual arts in the United States parallel between collective and individual exhibitions. Participation in international art festivals and former member of AC Garden Art in Mexico City for three years. Founder and honor member of Corredor Internacional del Arte in the Paseo Montejo of Merida, Yucatan.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Nietzche saw art as man’s struggle against negative social forces by use of the imagination, which he considered a product of pure ego. Art for him was the highest form of clear lucid thought, a tool for the good.
Schopenhauer envisioned art as a device of pleasure. Tolstoi viewed art as a propaganda and Oscar Wilde held to a doctrine of “art makes life”, meaning art is sometimes more real than reality.
I think the purest form of art is to give way to simple visual interest. To look at what you find yourself driven to see. Higher notions of art tend to confine art with lofty moral restrictions.
When art is passed off as a quasi-religion which can only be administered and interpreted by a special-order of priestly elites, the system invariably stifles imagination – even when the art is as liberal as blobs, slashes and splatters.
Art that has to serve as the instrument of artistic revolution is limited by having to react to a greater force in a continual hope of some overthrow, hence becoming the tool of reaction. Even the great revolt is enslaving.
But when all predetermined prejudices are momentarily set aside and you are one of the many at the scene of a horrible accident, your libido will do the looking. Something dead in the street commands more measure units of visual investigation than 100 Mona Lisas. It isn’t what you like; it’s what you really want to see! Art is not the slave of decoration. Hail the voyeur, the only honest connoisseur!
-Samuel Barrera
1995
-First solo exhibition held at the MACAY, constant 30 wooden crosses painted in acrylic
-Second solo exhibition, held at the Museum of Popular Culture, Coyoacán, Mexico City DF, 33 wooden crosses painted in acrylic.
1998
-November 13: solo exhibition of 22 paintings (Helix Symbiotic), in the Café Gallery "La Mancha", Merida, Yucatan.
-November 13: Exhibition collective nine acrylic paintings on wood. in "The Modern Primitive Gallery". Atlanta Georgia. E. U.
2000, 2001, 2002
-Participation in the "International Folk Art Festival", Atlanta, Georgia's Convention Center, United States August each year.
2004
-December 3 Collective Anthony painters painting three Ardavin Gallery Atlanta, Georgia. U. S.
2006
-Collective-Artists Painting 3 "x 3 in Blue New spiral1 Gallery, Asheville, North Carolina, United States January 5
-Participation in "Raise Your Hand" art auction and charity dinner in the Grow Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina United States November 4.
2007
-Overview of Plastic Yucatanense 1916-2007, Museo MACAY, Merida, Yucatan. October 19
2008
- "Collective Females", March 13, Municipal Art Gallery of Merida.
- Self Portrait - November 7., Gallery of Peon Contreras.
- "Apparent Silence" solo exhibition, Retrospective. - July 10 - Hall 1, Merida Olimpo Cultural Center.
2009
- "Open Studio" - collectively. January 10 - City Art Gallery
- "First Annual International Juried Show" - March 6 - The Taos Country Club. Taos N.M. U.S.A.
-Honorable Mention "The Most Humorist" - May 8 - The Gallery Taos NM U.S.A.
- "Becomings" - collectively. - May 15. Museum of the Yucatan city of Merida.
-FIRST PLACE-Painting Contest Sixth World Convention of Chile. - October 26 - Siglo XXI Convention Center.
2011
- "La Ceiba, divine proportion." Collective. - April 14 - Museum of the City of Merida.
- Selected in the category of Painting for V Biennial of Visual Arts Yucatan 2011-2 December.
- Collective "Sur-Real" - December 16 - Gallery Two Worlds.