Several generations of students and employees of UVA Health are familiar with the striking works of Roberto Rios, which have hung in the Health Sciences Library for the last two decades. Placed on long-term loan by the artist, the collection will, at the request of Mr. Rios, leave the Library next Wednesday, the 19th*, to be reunited with his other works in a retrospective exhibit at the Texas State Galleries.
Born in San Antonio, Texas, on December 14, 1941, to parents Jesse Rios and Maria Louisa Medina Rios, Rios began drawing at age seven, and painting at age 15. In his last year of junior high school, Mr. Rios met a librarian at the San Antonio Public Library who introduced him to biographies of artists, as well as books explaining their processes. For the next four years, young Roberto spent weekends at the library, researching and learning all he could about a variety of artists.
For many years Mr. Rios was a prolific and deeply influential political artist. In 2008, at age 67, he chose to concentrate on the spiritual, exploring his faith in an ongoing series called, “The Journey of Our Souls”. The paintings on view in the Library are from that period and their evocative titles, some of which include “Wind, Star, and Universe”, “Psalms of David”, “Giftedness” and “Light of the World”, are fitting accompaniments to their visually arresting colors and compositions.
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“I’m very thankful that our staff and patrons have been able to enjoy these beautiful works of art for the last twenty years.I remember when Mr. Rios came to the Library and discussed his thought process in creating each work.This impacted me deeply and to this day as I walk around the Library, I think about how much care and attention was poured into each piece.” - Bart Ragon, Director, Health Sciences Library |
We are deeply grateful to Mr. Rios for his generosity in allowing the Health Sciences Library to display his paintings and for his trust in our stewardship of his work. This collection will be missed by Library employees and patrons alike.
*This post was updated on October 17, 2022, to include the exact day of the week on which the paintings will be packed and shipped.
Whether a child’s artwork proudly hung on a refrigerator, beloved posters hung in a freshman’s dorm room, or a family photograph passed down through generations and given pride of a place in one’s home, what we display on our walls- what we choose to surround ourselves with- says something about us, about what and who we value, and about what we believe is worth preserving. In the past few decades, discussions about public art (portraits, busts, photographs, and of course statues) have increasingly become the subject of local and national conversations in the United States.
With the Rios art collection on its way to Texas, bound for a new home and a retrospective of the artist’s life works, the Health Sciences Library is bringing that conversation to bear about its own walls, asking:
What does our community value?
What is worthy of remembrance?
How will the art on our walls affect the people who use the Library to learn, study, and relax?
We realize that this isn’t a conversation only for the Library’s employees; this is a conversation in which our larger community must participate. The retrieval of the Rios paintings has provided us with the opportunity to choose artworks and artists to be included in the Library’s collection and we want it to be reflective of the diverse communities who use the Library; we’d really like for you to be a part of these conversations.
Please watch this blog and our homepage and social media channels for more information in the coming weeks.
If want to share your thoughts, or if you know for sure that you want to be part of this conversation, please email Kimberley Barker, MLIS, the Health Sciences Library’s Librarian for Belonging & Community Engagement: krb3k@virginia.edu.