Contemporary Fine Art
Marcos Orona Reyna
Acrylic
Artist Statement
I am a native of Carlsbad, New Mexico, and my interest in art began at a young age when I discovered a deep appreciation for art but couldn’t afford it. I became a self-taught artist, beginning with charcoals before moving to pastels when I realized my work needed color. My use of vibrant colors reflects my proud Mexican heritage. My art continues to mirror my fascination with color, tone, and their expressive possibilities. I later expanded my artistic education at the Scuola Lorenzo di Medici in Florence, Italy, where I studied drawing, ceramics, sculpture, and other media. I currently create acrylic paintings and retablos (religious icons) using locally sourced wood and pinon varnish.
Biography
Marcos spent most of his career as a Franciscan priest, working for several dioceses throughout the country. He is founder of the Franciscan Festival of Fine Arts in Las Cruces and a series of arts education classes at the Franciscan Holy Cross Retreat Center in Las Cruces, where artists from around the country were invited to teach. Marcos was also invited as a guest artist at the Dallas Museum of Art. Marcos retired from the priesthood in 2019 and settled in Los Lunas, New Mexico.
Marcos developed a deep and ongoing relationship with the local Native American community, celebrating masses at the Santo Domingo, Acoma, Jemez, and Santa Ana pueblos, among others. His lifelong friends include the renowned potters, Lonnie Vigil and Lucy Lewis, as well as artist and National Native American Museum curator Manuelita Lovato with whom Marcos had an art show in Burbank, California. Many of these artists have Marcos’ original work hanging in their homes, which is truly the greatest accolade that one artist can bestow upon another.