The San Antonio-centrism of Larry Portillo at Gallista Gallery, San Antonio

Larry Portillo

Gallista Gallery

October 2014

The San Antonio-centrism of

Larry Portillo

By: Gabriel Diego Delgado

In October 2014 the San Antonio art community saw the reemergence of absent painter named Larry Portillo.  After a long artistic AWOL, Portillo bursts out with new work, representing all that is contemporary ‘Chicano Art’.  Brilliant blues, defined purples, glowing yellows, and self-referential imagery; mixed with national, regional and local pride, Portillo makes a statement about who he is and where he is from.  

When I see the new work of Larry Portillo at Gallista Gallery, one painting stands out as the one that summarizes the whole exhibition; the visual statement of Chicano pride, of San Antonio tradition, of South Texas nationalism. That painting titled,  “ Blue Moon Bar”, an 24” x 24” acrylic painting,  depicts an older man up on a hill overlooking the Lone Star Bar; up on that hill playing his accordion in the lonely night, his only companion a dead tree- leafless but stoic (reflective of the man’s posture). The man plays for the people below, the ones in the bar- looking for love, for sympathy, for comfort, for friendship. He plays because he knows he has too, a self-fulfilling gratitude of the world below.  Half a bottle of beer down by his feet, he shares his melancholy music against a vast over-casted twilight sky.  The moon glows under the violaceous haze of the Texas skyline, an aura of xanthous miasma from the rural surroundings and absent urban decay of the modern cityscapes.

I am immediately reminded of “The Fiddler on the Roof”, a production referencing the precariously perched musician; a metaphor with cultural significance. 

In the movie, Tevye, the main patriarch says, “A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck. It isn't easy. You may ask 'Why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous?' Well, we stay because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: tradition!” 

I think of the people who call San Antonio home, the die-hard Spurs fans, the West Side priders, and the San Antonio egocentric mentalities. This accordion player up on this hill is their fiddler on the roof, a metaphor , we hear the lonely Tejano song, which plays deep into the heart of all of us who wear cowboy boots with pride, who embrace all that is San Anto, and who feel why would anyone want to live anywhere else. This accordion player signifies ‘tradition’, a way of life, a nostalgic sensibility handed down from generation to generation as we hold tight to South Texas identity and all the blended, multicultural influences that have shaped our Latino identity; German, Irish and otherwise.

Portillo has captured all of this with an effective but simplistic gestalt.

Other key paintings that also encompass this mindset include two more paintings from the Gallista selections- “Flying Tacos” and “Cruising South Alamo”.

“Flying Tacos” is a painting that depicts a green taco truck backlit by the San Antonio city skyline; a Chicano-ized Thomas Kincaid complete with inner glow -- but not from a quaint cottage of country time nostalgia, but an authentic radiance from the portable Mexican restaurant.  Los Flying Tacos is parked downtown at night, feeding the people exiting the bars, the ones leaving the Spurs games, the local celebrities including Joe Lopez, the owner of Gallista Gallery. 

“Cruising South Alamo” is a motorcycle melodrama between a man and his woman all mixed up in the familiar streets of urban identity. “Cruising South Alamo” is energized by the hue-riffic sensibilities of Portillo’s aesthetic.   We gain a greater respect and pride for the characters portrayed in the painting.  We start to identity with the burly Chicano riders.  Maybe it’s the Gypsies or the Bandidos, but we don’t judge, they are part of our community, patrons of our shops, bars and establishments. We know the neighborhoods, we know the owners of that classic car. It’s our street, our people, and our life; complete with Dia de Los Muertos insignia.

For more information about the artwork of Larry Portillo check out Gallista Gallery at 1913 South Flores, San Antonio, Texas 78204, (210) 212-8606.