About Jacinto
b. 1953
Jacinto Rivera, for the most part, is a self-taught artist. He was born and raised in California to an immigrant Filipino father and a mother of Native American/Hispanic heritage. He was an employee of the Pacific company of AT&T and all of its transformations since 1973 and retired in 2015. He has held positions as an operator and operator-manager for the first five years and then a cable splicing technician up until the end of his employment. His interest in art started early in his childhood as he was raised in a family where various crafts were practiced. He excelled in art throughout public school where he served as the art club president and was the art-editor and a contributor to his high school literary magazine. He has taken some art courses at the Sacramento City and American River Junior Colleges but does not hold a degree. In his late teens he was exposed to paintings by Wayne Thiebaud; captivated by the beauty of the objects and the skill of W.T.’s paintings, Jacinto’s interest in the art of painting was established. Later he was privileged to view the works of the modern masters of the Phillips Collection; the actual paintings whose images he had only seen reproduced in books. Seeing the large canvases in person gave him a greater understanding of art and evoked a feeling that nurtured his pursuit of becoming a painter. Jacinto continues to enhance his knowledge and passion for painting by viewing museums and galleries, attending Art lectures, along with varied readings on related subjects.
Artist Statement
I really enjoy making paintings. They’re like very complicated puzzles that I build. The pieces not only fit together on a two dimensional plane but back and forth between me and it, and if I’m fortunate enough to show it, another viewer. I need a reason to make a painting since a considerable amount of time will be invested. If the motivating idea doesn’t hold my interest the painting won’t either. Ideas are mostly born from my concern with our world and all that is happening within it. I am confronted with my place in time and space, an interaction with the nature of things, and how society accepts or rejects the conditions with which we live. I feel like one who has experienced the full range of emotions that there is to know in life. Profound truth and deep beauty move me. I am an American amongst many others that possess similar concerns as well as their own.
Exhibitions
Northern California Arts, Inc. 68th Bold Expressions International Exhibit 2023 (Honorable Mention)
Blue Line Arts Membership Medley 2023
Northern California Arts, Inc. Members Show 2023
Sacramento Fine Arts Center Second Chances Annual Membership Show 2023
Blue Line Arts Membership Medley 2022 (Artwork Purchased)
Blue Line Arts Membership Medley 2021 (Artwork Purchased)
Changing Perspective, Sacramento Fine Arts Center 2019 (First Place Award)
Blue Line Arts Membership Medley 2019
The Rock Show, Blue Line Arts Gallery 2019
Blue Line Arts Membership Medley 2018
Blue Line Arts Membership Medley 2017
Eccentric Imagery, Blue Line Arts Gallery 2017
Blue Line Arts Membership Medley 2016
Blue Line Arts Membership Medley 2015
Blue Line Arts Membership Medley 2014
Northern California Arts, Inc. 58th Bold Expressions International Exhibit 2013 (Expressions of Excellence Award)
Blue Line Arts Membership Medley 2013
Crocker Kingsley competition 2012
Blue Line Arts Membership Show 2012, Blue Line Gallery, Roseville, CA
22nd Annual Saint John’s Lutheran Church Religious Art Festival 1985 (Best of Show, Purchase Award)