The work of artist Rick Garcia

My most recent cover story for Venü Magazine, The Art and Heart of Rick Garcia, Winter issue, 2019-2020.

 An internet search of artist, Rick Garcia, will show only the lightest of online footprints revealing his website, a couple of YouTube videos, and his work at C. Parker Gallery in Greenwich Connecticut. Yet Garcia has created for some of today’s most highly visible organizations, corporations, events, and causes.

His work has garnered worldwide attention with images that are sometimes joyous and other times heart-rending. He is prolific. His palette is vibrant, often reflecting his love of the tropics, and with an economy of line he displays great skill in illustration. He has an approachable manner and an easygoing way of expressing himself. In other words, he’s pretty cool.

Rick Garcia has worked three times as the official artist for the GRAMMY Awards, setting the look and feel of the live ceremonies and gracing the covers of the organization’s program covers, CDs, posters, and apparel. In 1998 and 2003 he was commissioned by The United Nations Postal Administration to bring awareness to the dangers facing the rainforest and its inhabitants. The stamps he created earned his series the title of “most beautiful stamp series of 2003”.

Garcia was chosen as “Absolut Artist of the 90s” for the brand’s popular vodka ad campaign with Absolut Garcia, and a second submitted piece, Absolut Electric, went on again to draw worldwide attention. His work has included portraiture of Destiny’s Child, Ricky Martin, Coldplay, Santana, Celia Cruz, Black Eyed Peas, Imogen Heap, and Kanye West.

And still, very little will you find about him on the internet. Word of mouth is powerful.

His story begins back at the Art Institute of Miami where he studied drawing and painting. Soon Garcia was making a living from his illustrations. His work came to the attention of the creators of Miami Vice whereby he was commissioned to create a mural. His work was also used for interior scenes of the show. His artistic trajectory was set.

In the mid-nineties, Garcia was represented by the gallery/agent Arica Hilton, who suggested that he might look into creating images to direct attention to endangered animals. His love and affinity for animals and nature made the job a perfect fit.

One of this writer’s favorite pieces from the series is the vibrant yet heartbreaking, Almost Gone.

“This was at the time when I was working with regular brushes and airbrush and a level of surrealism was often used as a key component of my work,” explains Garcia. “The tiger is looking at the viewer and as the body of this animal nears the rear, less and less remains until the tail portion becomes birds flying off into the sky. The same tiger is seen above in a playful mood to symbolize an era of less intrusion by human beings.”

Have you enjoyed this excerpt? Read the article in its entirety at Venü Magazine.