The Artists
Forrealism Artists work in a variety of media and applications; Paintings, prints, murals, exhibits, & educational programs.
Read more about the core artists here.
Joaquin Alejandro Newman
Joaquin Alejandro Newman currently lives and paints in his hometown, Oakland, CA. The son of an artist mother and a scientist father, Joaquin’s heritage of Yaqui, Mexican, and European culture has fueled his creativity.
After studying fine art and digital design at Cabrillo College and UC Santa Cruz, Joaquin has worked as a painter, muralist, graphic designer, graphics engineer, and teaching artist. He currently works as an Arts Program Manager at the REACH Ashland Youth Center in San Leandro, where he teaches traditional and digital art.
Joaquin has created multiple public artworks in the Bay Area, including commissioned public art for the City of Oakland, murals at the Fox Courts Apartments in Uptown Oakland, and public art creations for the Alameda County Arts Commission, created with collaborator Eduardo Pineda.
Evelyn Orantes
Evelyn Orantes has dedicated over two decades of her professional career to creating experiences in museums and informal settings that connect people and celebrate the uniqueness and commonalities of communities. Her consulting approach is informed by her commitment to equity and diversity and by her bilingual and bicultural experiences.
Evelyn’s process emphasizes collaborative, visitor/user centered, accessible, inclusive and participatory practices. She has gained recognition in the museum field for community driven projects. Her current consulting business can be found at eorantesconsulting.com.
Eduardo Pineda
As a community artist for over thirty years my interests are the role of art in people's lives and informal learning. My current focus is public art, photography, and art education. Since 1978 I painted over 40 murals for cities, museums, school districts, universities, corporations, unions and commercial businesses; including a mural partnership, Fresco (1990-98), with legendary muralist Raymond Patlán.
From 1990-2007, I bridged community work with museums and public education as: the Director of Education at the Museum of the African Diaspora (2006-2007), at SFMOMA (1990-2006) in several appointments, as an independent curator and artist at other museums and alternative art spaces, as a teaching artist for the VALUES Project (2003-2006) – a collaboration between the California College of Arts, the Alameda County Office of Education and Harvard University’s Project Zero.
My degrees are: M.A. interdisciplinary arts, San Francisco State University, 1988; BFA painting, San Francisco Art Institute, 1983. My artworks are in the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts and the San Francisco Arts Commission public art collection.
Find more of Eduardo’s work at: www.storytellingwalls.com
Sean Levon Nash
ARTIST/EDUCATOR/FILMMAKER
My work is chiefly concerned with memory, narrative, and color. The collage and multimedia work I produce includes western texts and photographs for both aesthetic value and as content- people trust newsprint. My northwest coastal designs reflect the tradition of their own aesthetic sensibility and conform to a standard; the formal structure of Northwest coast art integrates spiritual and metaphysical ideas about the inseparability of one animal from another, or man from the context of his specific environment. These ideas reinforce the social necessity of cooperation and coordination. One image can coexist within another image without losing its integrity, or endangering its identity. This philosophical viewpoint is especially attractive to those of us representing multiple cultural influences.
I see the remnants of native populations in the faces of the “black” population, great singers, songwriters and storytellers of consequential influence. I dedicate my time in life to honor those who have come before me as our “indianness” becomes all the more evident in our population while it remixes with other people of mixed descent. In our eyes and cheekbones, the shape of our faces, our mannerisms, cuisine, and custom. The portraits I paint of these people are as Indian as anything else I paint. The paintings are the bridge, the unifying aspect. The collages, animation, storytelling, stand up comedy, they are all forms of painting to me.
Find more of Sean’s work at: www.seanlevonnash.com
Jerarde Gutierrez
art or•ches•tra•tor | ärt ôrki strātər |
noun
a person who arranges or directs the elements of (a situation) to produce a desired outcome, product, educational experience, or event than engages and encompasses one or more of the arts.
My goal is to facilitate bringing the arts and arts education to our community through the use of my multidisciplinary skill-set. Making art readily available to participate in, engage, or just observe, is my passion. I am an advocate for the arts in our communities and strongly believe the arts should be made accessible. I am a graphic artist, illustrator, and educator working both as an individual and as someone who actively engages the community with arts programming and public projects.
Find more of Jerarde’s work at: www.artofjerardefgutierrez.com.