The Weight – Manuel Fernando Rios

Everyone carries unique worries, insecurities and burdens on a daily basis. Whether those feelings are self-inflicted or caused by external sources, people bear loads of emotions that are more often than not bottled up. Manuel Fernando Rios’ exhibition at Axis Gallery titled “The Weight” aims to visually explore the feeling of carrying mental baggage. Through mixed media paintings that often include silkscreen and image transfers, Rios weaves intricate compositions full of colorful abstracted and figurative forms capturing the complicated feelings of emotional weight.

Manuel Fernando Rios is a West Sacramento, CA based artist, curator, Axis Gallery member and sits on the board of directors for Verge Center for the Arts in Sacramento, CA. Rios earned his BA and MA in Studio Art from California State University, Sacramento and was awarded the Headlands Center for the Arts Graduate Fellowship. He then received his MFA with an emphasis on Painting from the University of California, Davis and is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Woodland Community College. Rios’ work is included in the Royal Chicano Air Force permanent collection at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library at San José State University and has shown in such venues as the Museum of the African Diaspora (M.o.A.D.), San Francisco, CA, the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA and the Museum of Culture and the Environment, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA.