The opening reception for the exhibition is Wednesday, September 23, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Heritage Hall in the JPMorgan Chase building located at 712 Main Street in downtown Houston. 
 
The Image Altered is the first in a series of four visual art exhibitions that focus on cultural heritage month celebrations.  Celebrating Diversity Through Art is a unique collaboration of JPMorgan Chase and Art League Houston, which highlights established and emerging artists representative of diverse communities.
 
This program is supported in full by JPMorgan Chase Foundation.

Jesus Galvan was born in Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico and raised in the small city of San Fernando in Tamaulipas.  He had his first art lesson at the age of eight.  He has a B.F.A. in Visual Arts from the Universidad Autonoma De Nuevo Leon (1999).  While at Nuevo Leon, he was among the first young artists to be exhibited along side established artists such as Julio Galan and Frida Kahlo, in the newly opened (at the time) Museo De Las Artes.  Galvan has shown his work extensively in Mexico and Texas, as well as in Chicago, New York, and Miami.   In 2009 he had a solo exhibition at Nau-Haus Gallery in Houston, and was included in the Big Show at Lawndale Art Center in Houston.  

 

 

Cheyanne Ramos has a BFA from Georgia State University and recently received her MFA from the University of Houston.  She spent the early part of her childhood in Northern California, and later moved to Georgia.  Since moving to Houston in 2006 she has been included in exhibitions at Blaffer Gallery, Domy Books, The Joanna Gallery, Williams Tower and Joan Wich and Co. Gallery, and in 2009 she had solo exhibitions at Joan Wich and at the University of Houston's Project Gallery as well. While at the University of Houston she received a number of awards including a Presidential Graduate Fellowship and a Bunker Graduate Scholarship, among others.  She has been a teaching assistant at the University of Houston since 2006.

 

 

Aurora Borealis, Cheyanne Ramos 

Y. E. Torres is a visual and performance artist based in Houston, Texas. She has a B.F.A. in Drawing and Painting and a B.F.A. in Fashion Design from the University of North Texas.   As a mixed media artist working primarily with ink on paper, collage, and photographs, Torres draws inspiration from a variety of sources including fashion and textile design, fine art, and graffiti.  In her role as a contemporary belly dancer, her performances range from the folkloric to modern belly dance fusion to improvisational movement.  Torres has exhibited her work at museums and galleries that include Diaspora Vibe Gallery in Miami, Contemporary Art Association in Chicago, Art House Gallery in Atlanta, and Lawndale Art Center in Houston.
 

 

Rebecca Villarreal is an itinerant photographer and sculptor based primarily in and around Houston, Texas.  She received her Bachelor of Arts from Rice University with a degree in Visual Arts, Psychology and Religious Studies.  In 2004 she spent a semester studying at Queensland College of Art in Brisbane, Australia.  Since graduating, she has worked as an artist assistant to photographer Geoff Winningham and sculptor Janice Freeman, and has exhibited her own work in galleries and juried outdoor art festivals around the country.  Villarreal has received numerous prizes for her photographs, including the top prize for art majors at Rice University (The Mavis C. Pittman Memorial Prize in Art) and the Best of Photography Award from the Tulsa International Mayfest.  Her work can be found in private collections throughout the country.