The Fort Worth Community Arts Center is pleased to announce Jose "Mr. Lonely" Salinas' first solo exhibition, From Behind the Walls. In the form of ink drawings and poetry, Salinas' art portrays his life, dreams, and regrets during his time incarcerated in prison, sharing his struggles with addiction and longing for home from "behind the walls."
Salinas’ work is greatly influenced by and embodies Chicano imagery and the work in From Behind the Walls infuses those elements with vignettes of an imprisoned person's life and fantasies: religious icons, temptations, and family members. Images of hope and hopelessness weave throughout Salinas' work and he states that his artwork became a source of therapy, allowing him to stay focused. In many ways, Salinas’ voice is not one heard often in art spaces and he hopes that his art tells a complicated story beyond a cautionary tale.
Like all exhibitions on view in the Arts Center’s nine gallery spaces, From Behind the Walls is free to visit, Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibition opened at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center on March 26, 2021 and will be in view until May 15, 2021. An interview with artist Jose Salinas is scheduled to premiere April 15, 2021 on the Arts Center’s website www.fwcac.org.
