The Sense of Beauty: Six Centuries of Painting From Museo de Arte de Ponce
Exhibition at the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California
February 1st – May 24th, 2026
The Crocker Art Museum in midtown Sacramento is an oasis amid the hustle and bustle of the city, offering a culturally rich, meditative space. Built in 1871, the Crocker is the oldest museum in the Western United States, and it boasts a collection that encompasses California, American, and European art.
The past five years have been an extraordinary period of growth. During that time, the vision I’ve carried for the past four decades finally became a reality: I embraced an aesthetic that has enthralled me for years and began incorporating ideas and concerns into my work that I had previously been unable to fully express.
Forty years ago, I was standing in the small bedroom I occupied in my parents’ home in Fresno, packing my things and getting ready to move to San Francisco to start classes at the Academy of Art College.
For more than four decades, my work has been shaped by the Pre-Raphaelites, particularly the art of Edward Burne-Jones and the broader Symbolist and fin de siècle traditions. The essay below, published in the Summer 2025 issue of The PRS Review as the inaugural entry in the series In an Artist’s Studio, outlines the development of that influence across my artistic life.
The creation of a new piece of work unfolds in ways most people never imagine. It’s nonlinear, unpredictable, and refuses to adhere to routine. This isn’t a recipe for paella, it’s the act of conjuring something from nothing.
My work is defiance on paper. I am not here to chase trends or court popularity—I am here to be myself. And being yourself means going against expectations. Declaring self-autonomy always comes with a generous cup of take it or leave it.
In the summer of 2022, I experienced a fundamental change. Reading The Radical Vision of Edward Burne-Jones finally gave me the clarity and purpose I had been searching for.