A glimpse inside HENRY ESPARZA

The work of Henry Esparza is a culmination of his life and all of its daily experiences. His art represents the countless, untold hours spent observing the world and allowing the creative process to evolve within.

As a young man, Henry discovered the writings of poet Rainer Maria Rilke. During his relatively short life, Rilke produced a body of writings thought by many to be unsurpassed in its genius and insight of emotion and sensuality. Like many artists who have been attracted to Rilke’s works, Henry found a deep source for lifelong inspiration.
How does an artist decide the path of a painting? What is the significance behind the origin of birds? What was in the artist’s mind when the paint fell into a certain curve to create a flow? What, if anything, is he unveiling of himself?

For poetry isn’t, as people imagine, merely feelings (these come soon enough); it is experiences. To write one line, a man ought to see many cities, people, and things; he must learn to know animals and the way of birds in the air, and how little flowers open in the morning. One must be able to think back the way to unknown places . . . and to partings long foreseen, to days of childhood . . . and to parents . . . to days on the seas . . . to nights of travel . . . and one must have memories of many nights of love, no two alike . . . and the screams of women in childbed . . .one must have sat by the dying, one must have sat by the dead in a room with open windows . . . . But it is not enough to have memories. One must be able to forget them and have vast patience until they come again . . . and when they become blood within us, and glances and gestures . . . then first it can happened that in a rare hour the first work of a verse may arise and come forth . . .
Poet Rainer Maria Rilke

To understand an artists’ mind is to delve into an ocean of timelessness. It is our intention to share with you here a glimpse into the heart of Henry Esparza.

How do you view Nature?
For me nature affirms the miracle of life. Nature is the only truth and I am part of it.

How do you let the restorative power of Nature regenerate you?
I look for the magic everyday. I listen for the singing. Everything sings in nature.

Which living person do you most admire?
Can not provide an answer.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Being able to sit quietly and watch the birds in my backyard, here in the Sonoran Desert.

Are you social by nature?
I do not consider myself a social person. I enjoy meeting people and listening to their ideas and thoughts. I am a listener.  We need more listeners.

Describe your idea of a perfect day.
Listening to all of nature, especially song birds, with no interrupting sounds of the modern world. I feel the most safe and most content when I hear birds.

Where do you like to travel?
I enjoy San Francisco. It’s a city where you can walk almost anywhere. I particularly like walking through Chinatown to get to North Beach. You can still find unique music there in music stores.

Do you have any regrets?
Regret is a word I never think about or use.

How has your world changed in the past few years?
There came a time in my life I felt a tremendous connection with nature. I feel I am a part of nature’s spirit. Nature has gently and kindly shown a response to me, through birds. My subtle relationship with birds has given me sanctuary and freed me to take my art to a new level.

What do you consider your finest achievement? 
Giving to the lives of children.

Who are some of your favorite artists?
Raymond Saunders and Cy Twombly

Do you have a life philosophy?
I want to learn as much as I can and to recognize when I am happy.

Pick three of your favorite cds?
A Love Supreme – John Coltrane
Astral Weeks – Van Morrison
The White Album – The Beatles

Looking ahead, what are your goals for the future?
To contribute to the life of animals and work with children. Too few value nature today. Too few value life. Through my art, I strive for recognition of the beauty around us, compelling one into the stillness and inspire listening, in hopes of protecting it.

The work of Henry Esparza is contemporary mixed media, collage works and paintings on canvas and paper. His works are created with acrylic paint, plaster, varnish, decomposed granite, branches, leaves and collage elements.

A master of the collage medium, he has developed a style that is passionate, spiritual and formal in his mediums. Esparza's works magnify the poetic essentials of selected ‘found objects,’ which become intensified by the unexpected internal relationships revealed by the juxtaposition of the individual graphic elements or objects. Henry Esparza incorporates the decomposed granite, from historical sites, into his paint to create textural compositions that seem to take both a step back and a step forward. The use of decomposed granite evolved in Esparza’s work from being commissioned to paint Indian petroglyphs in Santa Fe, New Mexico for a public building.

Esparza’s color range is vibrant and subdued, yet always elegant, yielding a quiet richness of palette and lending to the sensitivity of each work. The work is graphically strong with a depth of meaning that comes from the risk of directness and simplicity of means. There is a masterful surety in expert handling. Esparza's works are personal dialogues of the mind, eye, and hand, each doing what it does at its alert best. They are a continuing visual record of a journey of discovery for the artist. His willingness to take chances has put Henry Esparza in museums, galleries and corporate collections throughout the West, including the San Francisco Mexican Museum.

A native of the San Francisco Bay area in California, Esparza currently resides in Fountain Hills, Arizona where he has his studio. He received his education at the California College of Arts and Crafts and California State University. While at California State, Hayward, Esparza met and studied under internationally known artist Raymond Saunders. Esparza has also extensively studied Asian, Native American and Mexican cultures. He has lived and worked in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City and Santa Fe, New Mexico.