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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Emigdio Vasquez is an internationally known artist and muralist. His artistic works and photo-realistic style is studied and appreciated by art critics nation-wide.
Bio:
Among his many accolades, the Orange County Register recognized Emigdio as the Godfather of Hispanic artists. Born in the historic mining town of Jerome, Arizona, his father worked for Phelps-Dodge copper mines.
After WWII demands for copper slowed down, Emigdio’s family moved in with his aunt in Orange, California. His father later purchased a home a few doors down the street. He still resides in Orange.
Emigdio’s interest in art began in Kindergarten. Throughout his childhood, he made his own comic books based on stories his father told him about the Mexican Revolution. In the late 50s, he began oil painting. Inspired by Diego Rivera, in the mid 1960s, he painted his first mural in his parent’s patio. Emigdio earned his AA degree from Santa Ana College in the early 70s; and in 1979, he earned his Master of Arts degree from Cal State Fullerton.
With over 400 works, many have appeared in milestone exhibitions of Chicano art, including the 1975 Chicanarte exhibit at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, and in UCLA's Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation in 1990. In addition, he was the featured artist at the Orange County Fair in 1993; and he received an award for his painting "Obreos" at California's State Fair, Sacramento. His works continue to be displayed in numerous galleries and art shows throughout California. Many private collectors exhibit his works in homes and offices.
In 2004, he was inducted into Santa Ana College Alumni Hall of Fame. In 2007, he was asked by Gaddi Vasquez,
the United States UN Ambassador to Rome, to join "The ART in Embassies Program"; where three of his painting were sent to exhibit in the Ambassador’s resident in Rome. In 2008, he was honored in the Top 50 Hispanic Graduates from Cal State Fullerton from its 50 year history.
Style: Emigdio Vasquez has drawn upon and transformed photographs into a body of work that documents and comments on the daily life of working people in the barrio. With painstaking skill, he records the urban experience, unsentimentally and with dignity, neither glorifying nor (with some exceptions) criticizing. California Arts Council
Quotes: Living legends, Emigdio's paintings will one-day grace the Halls of the Museums, of Humanity.
Manuel Macias - Art Collector
To see his paintings is to enter into and relive the history of a people. Shifra M. Goldman - Art Historian
Emigdio Vasquez is the father of six children. His son, Carlos (Higgy) also an artist, is his assistant on mural projects. Emigdio has painted 22 murals in Orange County. His work can be recognized by the "super-realistic" style, historical transitions and themes.
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