MOVERS & SHAKERS
Jose Rizo
By Josephine E . Moore
Growing up , Jose Rizo wanted to be an animator for comic books . He can remember illustrating his own comic books at the age of 9 .
“ I would go to the store and print them and give them to my friends ,” he said . “ I always had that creative mind .” But instead of pursuing art , Rizo entered the family restaurant businesses , eventually owning El Mariachi , a staple in Beaver for decades .
Recently , however , Rizo has started leaning back into his creative side , not by creating art but by collecting it .
Rizo said he started collecting art roughly five years ago and has since accumulated about 1,400 pieces that , until recently , were sitting in storage .
In an effort to share his vast collection with the community , Rizo recently began hosting art shows to showcase his collection along with pieces from local artists .
His most recent show took place in July in conjunction with the BEX Art Festival and featured impressionistic art from his collection .
Rizo said impressionistic art is just what it sounds like – “ it ’ s artists capturing a moment in time on canvas .”
As part of the art show , Rizo created descriptive posters that explained each piece to give the show a museum-like feel .
“ I love going to museums and learning stuff ... so I wanted to make it educational with a theme ,” he said .
With such a vast collection of pieces from all over the world that date back more than 100 years , Rizo said he also wanted to bring something to the community that they may not otherwise be able to experience locally .
“ I really wanted to bring more art to the area ,” he said . “ I think a lot of people that really like art will travel , to Charlotte , to Columbus , and I ’ m trying to do that here . I ’ m hoping that there ’ s enough interest for it to be appreciated , and it has been .”
Rizo said his plan is to continue hosting art shows in the Grant Building on Neville Street in Beckley at least twice a year , which will display a mix of his collection as well as pieces from local artists .
What was the first piece of artwork you purchased ? It was by an unknown artist . I bought it at an antique mall here in Beckley . It was wonderful . A beautiful landscape , very well done , and I bought it for $ 60 and I was like , man , you can buy nice stuff like this for $ 60 . |
What is the oldest piece of artwork that you own ? I have a piece from 1888 or 1892 . It ’ s a French piece because I can ’ t pronounce the name , and it ’ s of a lady with a letter in her hand kind of looking down . But I think I have a Dutch piece dated even older than that , maybe around 1880 . |
What is your favorite type of artwork ? Depression-era art . The biggest burst of art in this country was during the Depression era because of the Public Works of Art Project under Franklin Roosevelt , who basically gave money to artists to produce art . A lot of great art came out of the darkest times in American history , just the creativity , the depiction of just total devastation , and then how we came out of it . |
What inspires you most when it comes to collecting art ? I ’ m inspired to learn about the art itself , the stories , the people , the exhibits , and I ’ m fascinated to think that actually my collection could one day be in a national museum . |
SOUTH � SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER ’ 24 � 29