Extended through February 17!

Bainbridge Island Museum of Art presents a retrospective of artworks by Alfredo Arreguín – spanning fifty years of painting. Arreguín was born in 1935 in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. His artistic career developed in Seattle, WA after he completed two degrees at the University of Washington (B.A. in 1967; M.F.A. in 1969). He continues to live and work in Seattle to this day.

This major exhibition follows another retrospective in 2002, at Bellevue Arts Museum. Since then, Arreguín has continued to be prolific, working in various series of paintings. These include jungle paintings, works with religious symbolism, portraits (Frida Kahlo – among the most popular), landscapes, salmon paintings, and seascapes. BIMA’s exhibition will feature over thirty paintings, with an emphasis on his more recent production, as well as older paintings retained in the artist’s private collection.

Arreguín’s work is largely influenced by his childhood experiences in Mexico. He recalls he used to play in the woods surrounding the city. “I pretended to be Tarzan, swimming in rivers, climbing hills, and swinging in the branches of trees. That is how, as a child, I developed a deep love for nature.” During his adolescence, he spent time in the jungles of Guerrero, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, and his respect for nature grew.

He immigrated to the United States in 1955. Just prior to starting college classes in Seattle, he was drafted into the United States Army. He spent thirteen months in Korea and was able to visit Japan twice. The visual richness of these and other Asian cultures would influence his artwork years later – such as large waves and the patterns in Chinese floral designs.

The environment of the Pacific Northwest has also had a strong influence on his work. Arreguín’s good friend, the great writer Raymond Carver, shared his interest in fishing and deep respect for salmon with him. Following Carver’s death, Arreguín created his first salmon painting. This led to a new series – since then has completed numerous paintings featuring salmon and other life in the Salish Sea.

Arreguín has received many prestigious awards in both the United States and Mexico. He has been featured in major international exhibitions, including in Mexico and Spain, and in many exhibitions in the United States including the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and the National Academy of Sciences, both in Washington, D.C.

His work is in dozens of museums, corporate, and private art collections internationally. He is represented by Linda Hodges Gallery in Seattle.