April 23, 2005, a rainey Saturday evening and the opening reception of Jose F Rios third solo show at Gelabert Studios in NYC.

It was another fantastic opening day reception for Jose F Rios and his show titled Windows. Windows is a great concept for an artist and the paintings showed how much we see in each other’s lives through windows we look into each day of our lives. No one has ever gone pass an open window and not looked in to see how we each live and interact in our environment. A look inside our lives through the eyes of an artist whose creative mind has put on canvas snapshots of windows he himself has noticed. The most talked about painting in the show was “Café Bustelo” This one will definitely sell and it may go into a bidding war as several people have shown interest in purchasing it.

The Café Bustelo brewing company should look at acquiring this painting also as it has sparked a lot of interest and everyone can relate to this painting. The painting shows a can of café Bustelo sitting on the windowsill with an avocado plant growing in it. We have all seen this picture at least once in our life in the Latino community. It is about the family that a few weeks ago had an avocado with their meal and in an effort to bring a little of their Island to their home in a NYC apartment have taken the Avocado pit and planted it in the can of Café Bustelo. There it sits on the windowsill soaking up the sun, cared for and nurtured as a symbol of who we are. Everyone in the show immediately knew what this painting symbolized.

This show has been going on now for three years and each year we connect with someone in our past who somehow has learned of it and shows up and we once again grow as a family of friends who through the years have grown apart but are reunited thought this yearly event. This is the third solo show Jose Rios has had at Gelabert Studios and it has become a meeting place where friends and family meet at least once a year and catch up and enjoy the talent that Jose F. Rios has once again put together for us to sample and enjoy.

Displayed directly across from the entrance are a few pieces we noticed as soon as we walk in. They showed a different style we first noticed in the last show where the artist is starting to use a lighter more vibrant palette of color. We noticed this in two of last year’s paintings titled “El Morro de San Juan”

The show featured various paintings of windows, and some experimental projects the artist has been working on through the last few years. These are show cased in a separate room in the gallery. Jose F. Rios invites everyone to come down to Gelabert Studios now through April 30 when the show will end and view his latest works of art.

Albert Rios

Press-Release