La Antigua Galería de Arte presents A Tribute to the late Guatemalan artist Oscar Ríos. The show, sponsored by his family, will include numerous ceramic pieces and over 30 paintings that have never been shown publicly.

HIDDEN ART: Preferring a reputation as a sculptor, Oscar Ríos had many paintings that were unknown.

On May 5, 2004, family and friends, fellow artists and art patrons in Guatemala were shocked by the sudden passing of Oscar Ríos. For over 30 years he molded beautiful forms out of terracotta to portray the everyday life of the Maya people: workers in the fields, the compadre who had too much to drink, the elegant cofrade who uphold indigenous religious traditions and a couple dancing to ranchero music. Seated figures, mostly feminine, at rest or with slight gestures, remind us of archeological glyphs that he transformed by a touch of post-modern cubism.

Ríos was also a prolific painter; however, he wanted his reputation to grow as a sculptor. That is the reason why no one, not even the art galleries, ever knew about this work. His paintings, mostly acrylics on panel, are very similar in technique and subject matter to his terracotta sculptures. They will be shown for the first time at this show and will be a surprise to his admirers and collectors.

Oscar Ríos was born in Río Bravo Suchitepéquez in 1950. Since 1968 he participated in numerous group and individual exhibitions, art contests, auctions and art festivals. Examples of his works can be found in The National Museum of Archaeology in Guatemala City and in private collections all over the world. He was also a professor in sculpture at the National Fine Art School in Guatemala City. La Antigua Galería de Arte has been representing his work since 1996.