Biography
Oliverio Balcells is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice includes painting, music, mosaic art, murals, photography, being a teaching artist and a scholar of the ancient Mesoamerican cultures.
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“I’m interested in social themes like history, culture and symbolism. I’m inspired by color, nature and music. The essence of my artwork expresses the energy and personal passion that is reflected in a song, a painting or a public art project.”
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Oliverio has been selected in 2012, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 by the City of Tempe for different Public Art Programs. These include a Maryanne Corder grant to work with the Alegre community for a mosaic art standpipe, the Project PEACE with a mural design for the basketball courts at Escalante Park, a standpipe in Downtown Tempe made with the tile mosaic technique for Wilson Art & Garden District, for In Flux Cycle 6 he painted a mural on Apache Blvd., he was part of the 1st generation utility box painted on Mill Avenue and recently as selected artist participated for the Fence Art for Tempe Art in the Parks Program 2023 at Indian Bend Park.
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Recently he installed a steel sculpture for the Beautification 3D Sculptures Project Exhibit 2024 with the City of Flagstaff and will start working for the 2024 Santa Rita Park Public Art project with the City of Tucson.
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In 2023 Oliverio finished the Western Ave Parking Project with the City of Goodyear installing steel art pieces, and finished the 2-year project with Valley Metro’s public art for the Northwest extension of the light rail with a design that it’s made with mosaic art on the risers’ stairs for one of the stations.
In 2020 Oliverio was selected as an artist for various public art programs in the Valley. The City of Glendale chose him to design and paint a bench in downtown for the project “Take a Seat”. For the City of Goodyear in celebration of their 75th anniversary he was asked to paint a large 3-D heart sculpture at Wildflower South Park for “The Heart of Goodyear Project”. The City of Chandler awarded him a commission to design, with a student from ICAN, an artwork that was installed at a Cabinet Control box in Downtown.
In 2017 Oliverio presented a multimedia performance at Pueblo Grande Museum, entitled “The Unknown Symbols” with original music and film recorded in the Valley of the Sun. The Arizona Commission on the Arts granted him awards to work as an artist-in-residence with South Mountain High School, Chandler Gilbert Community College and Mercury Mine Elementary School in the Paradise Valley School District. He has also worked with Kyrene School District’s Kyrene del Norte elementary school in creating seven murals with students from kindergarten to 5th grade that were painted in the school hallways. He has done several workshops for CALA’s Community Arts Program, Childsplay, Free Arts of Arizona, Xico Inc, Cultural Coalition, Calaca Cultural Center, City of Chandler’s Vision Gallery, and the Heard Museum. He is constantly composing music, taking photographs, making field recordings, exhibiting new paintings and traveling for inspiration.
Oliverio Balcells received his Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from the Univa University in Guadalajara, Mexico.
He currently lives and works in Tempe, Arizona with his wife and two children. His native language is Spanish and English is his second language.
Contact
AWARDS AND GRANTS
• Selected artist Santa Rita Park Public Art, Tucson, Arizona 2024
• Selected artist Cactus Collective, Scottsdale, Arizona 2024.
• Selected artist 3D Artwork Exhibit at the “Liz” C. Archuleta County Park, Flagstaff, Arizona 2024.
• Selected artist for Boyce Thompson Arboretum's Spiny Splendor Project, Superior Arizona 2023.
• Selected artist for City of Tempe Art in the Parks at Indian Bend Park, Tempe Arizona 2022.
• Selected artist for Historic Goodyear Parking Lot Public Art, Goodyear Arizona 2022.
• Selected artist for Maryanne Corder Neighborhood Public Art Grant, Tempe Arizona 2021.
• Selected artist for Heart of Goodyear Public Art for 75th Anniversary, Goodyear Arizona 2020.
• Selected artist for City of Chandler Public Art for Control Cabinets, Chandler Arizona 2020.
• Selected artist for PEACE Project Public Art for Tempe Leadership Class, Tempe Arizona 2020.
• Selected artist for Take a Seat Public Art Program for the City of Glendale Arizona 2020.
• Selected artist for the Public Art Program for the City of Tempe Arizona 2019.
• Selected artist for Valley Metro’s public art for the Northwest extension of the light rail, Phoenix AZ 2017
• Selected artist for In Flux Cycle 6 for the City of Tempe Arizona 2016.
• Awarded a grant from Arizona Commission on the Arts, Artist in Residence Mercury Mine School 2014.
• Selected artist for the 2012 Public Art Program for the City of Tempe Arizona 2012.
• First Place at the Arte Latino en la Ciudad, Phoenix Arizona 2008.
• Best Artist in the 7th Plastic Arts Exhibit of Cancun, traveling exhibit throughout Mexico
for the year 2000, sponsored by the state of Quintana Roo and Casa de la Cultura.
Cancun, Mexico, 1999.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
• COLORLOVE, Civic Center Library, Scottsdale, Arizona 2024.
• Balance, Harmony & Duality, Xico Inc Gallery, Phoenix, Arizona 2022.
• XSCAPE: Landscapes, Cityscapes and Mindscapes, Found Re Contemporary, Phoenix, Arizona 2021.
• Visual Stories of Place Inspired by Huichol World View Part I, ASU West, Phoenix, Arizona 2019.
• Visual Stories of Place Inspired by Huichol World View Part II, Unexpected, Phoenix, Arizona 2019.
• Three Series, ASU Gammage, Tempe Arizona 2019.
• There and Back, Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler Arizona 2018.
• ASU West Campus Fletcher Library, Phoenix, Arizona 2017.
• VI Bienal Internacional Indigena, Piura Peru 2016.
• Latino/a Americans: 500 Years of History, Idaho State University 2016.
• Promega Art Showcase, Madison, Wisconsin 2014.
• La Cocina, Museo de las Americas, Denver, Colorado 2013.
• Objects d’Art, Herberger Theater and Center, Phoenix 2012.
• The New Wave of Mexican Contemporary Art, Arizona Latino Arts & Cultural Center 2011.
• The Sacred &The Living, Herberger Art Gallery at University Club, Phoenix, Arizona 2010.
• Visiones of 40 Arizona Latino Artists, Galeria 147, Arizona Latino Arts& Cultural Center 2009.
• Conexiones, Contemporary Works by Mexican Artists, Mesa Arts Center. Mesa, Arizona, 2009.
• Migration: Immigration, Giving Honor to Cultures and Communities, ASU Phoenix, Arizona, 2009.
• Political Persona at ASU Kerr Cultural Center, Scottsdale, Arizona, 2009.
• Dia de Muertos, Arizona MuseumforYouth, Mesa, Arizona, 2008.
• La Cultura Cura at ASU West, Glendale, Arizona, 2008.
• Arte Latino XII en la Ciudad, Phoenix, Arizona, 2008.
• First International Congress of the Toltec Culture, Tula Hidalgo Mexico, 2007.
• Arte Caliente at Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler Arizona, 2004.
• The Mending Wall Exhibit at ASU West, Glendale Arizona, 2004.
• Arizona Room, Mesa Arts Center, Arizona, 2003.
• Arte Latino VII en la Ciudad, Phoenix, Arizona, 2002.
• Casa de la Cultura de Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 1999.
• Ferrocarril Gallery, Guadalajara, Mexico, 1998.
• La Escalera Gallery, Guadalajara, Mexico, 1995.
• On Line Gallery. Tucson, Arizona, 1994.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
• Mesoamerican Reflections, Mayo Clinic Building, Phoenix, Arizona 2024.
• Multidisciplinary Color, Textures & Sounds – Multimedia Performance & Exhibit, Alwun House, Phoenix, sArizona 2023.
• The Cultural Traveler – Multimedia Virtual Performance, Tempe, Arizona 2020.
• The Unknown Symbols – Multimedia Performance, Pueblo Grande Museum, Phoenix, Arizona 2017.
• Stories in Color, Arizona State University West, Glendale, Arizona 2017.
• Spectacular Tones in the Essence of All, Herberger Gallery, Phoenix Arizona 2017.
• The Next Level, 6th Ave Gallery, Phoenix Arizona 2013.
MEMBERSHIPS
• Cultural Arts Coalition Board Member, 2020a