Reynaldo Hernandez

Artist Statement: As artist, educator and leader I help communities articulate their concerns through images that teach people in motion. I make art an integral part of the daily lives of ordinary people by painting public mural art in cities throughout the state.

I make art for and with neighborhood people that is designed to meet specific needs, concerns and aspirations of a particular community. They see their lives reflected in murals on a grand scale. Murals play a critical role in building and sustaining community pride and in reflecting, preserving and advancing diverse cultures and heritages.

Artwork in urban outdoors calls into play a whole assortment of responsibilities that have little to do with the conventions of a gallery or museum. The wall art I produce cannot be exhibited in galleries due to being a permanent part of an architectural structure.

However, each mural piece is exhibited publicly and reviewed by art critics. My gallery is in the streets. My art exhibition is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To design murals, you need to anticipate the attitude and style of living of the users and inhabitants. It is art for people who work and live in them.

Being a community muralist, at times I work with youth, community residents and "at risk" juveniles. They have input with the concept and help with blocking in the large areas of color. I complete the work with shading, details, and corrections. Although the piece is my copyrighted work, I allow these often untrained groups to share into the creative process of making public art.

Mural art demands that art should not be viewed as a decorative extra to the architectural ensemble, but right from the beginning, the technical and industrial aspects of the construction should be united with those of the artistic and architectural nature.

The majority of my art career has been used enhancing education using murals as an academic discipline and enhancing learning. Since my mother's unexpected death in 2002, I have begun a gradual shift from community-oriented art to a more personal introspective approach. My goal is to produce and publicly display a new body of work.

Murals: "Wittenberg Welcomes You" and "Number Please"