HOUSTON - "The Mentor Exhibition," presented by the Fine Arts Department of Houston Community College ? Southwest opened on September 26 at the Annex Gallery, 13645 Murphy Road, Suite 250, Stafford.

"The Mentor Exhibition" was an invitational showcasing the work of 25 art instructors, each paired with the work of a student.  The art instructors were selected based on their reputations as artists and teachers.  Instructors from the Glassel School, San Jacinto College, Memphis College of Art, Texas Tech University, Alvin Community College, Texas Southern University, College of the Mainland, Texas A&M Corpus, Houston Community College, Kincaid School, and Episcopal High School are represented.

The unique pairing of teacher and student work, allows viewers to observe the individual talents of each artist while witnessing the instructors' influence.

One pairing included mentor Greg Rubio, painter and mentee, Jesica Ibarguengoitia. Rubio is an assistant professor at Texas A & M University in Corpus Christi, Texas.  He earned his MFA at the University of Delaware.  Rubio taught at Houston Community College and Tomball College.  He won a Fulbright/Garcia Robles Fellowship to work in Mexico in 1999-2000.  In 2001, he served as an instructor at the Instituto de Artes y Oficios de Queretaro, Mexico, where he met Jesica Ibarguengoitia.

"Ibarguengoitia always received my most honest and challenging criticism. She was very receptive to suggestions and, in rising to the occasion, exceeded her own expectations. She must have sensed the satisfaction I got from the learning process because she was quick to put me to the test with challenging questions of her own,"  says Rubio.

Ibarguengoitia received her BFA from the Escuela de Bellas Artes, Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro in Mexico. She currently teaches at the Instituto de Artes y Oficios de Queretaro in Mexico. In 1995, she graduated with highest honors in her class at the University. Her  work is included in "Pintura Joven Queretana," a traveling exhibition to Sonora, Baja California, Tijuana, and Nayarit.

According to Ibarguengoitia, "By observing Rubio's studio sessions, not only did I get a new perspective on teaching techniques but I also found myself becoming involved as a student by applying what I had learned in those classes to my own artwork. It was an enriching experience to share my paintings with Greg because I could always count on criticisms that were honest, objective, and concrete."

The exhibition was on view through October 17.  The artist reception was held  on Friday, October 4.

MENTOR EXHIBITION
September 26-October 17, 2002

Exhibition Preview
September 26, 2002
11:30-a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Gallery Reception
Friday, October 4, 6-8 p.m.