By Edna Gundersen
Sunday, April 17, 1977
reprinted from El Paso Times
His one-man show, which opened Friday in his home and studio at 366 Buena Vista St., consists of 45 drawings and paintings "representing the newest level I have reached as an artist," Acosta said. The display, he added, was the result of last year’s snowfall in El Paso and contains many winter landscapes.
"It is remarkable how a heavy snowstorm in November was the catalyst for my work," Acosta said. "It sparked a new venture."
The recent drawings and watercolors also reflect the artist’s ability to avoid growing stale.
"My work is more mature; there is a tremendous improvement," he commented. "I have not used watercolor in eight years. The show will be a surprise for the public in a sense."
The exhibit will continue through April 28 in the artist’s four-year-old adobe studio, built on two lots by friends and relatives, "who used the proper amounts of mortar, baloney and beer," Acosta said.
"When the freeway project forced me to abandon my former studio, it took a family effort to create this one," he said. "The gazebo (in his front yard) and the adobe are links to my heritage. They express my appreciation for things I left behind in Mexico."
For as long as he can remember, Acosta has been an artist. He is not sure how his painting tendency began, because "there were no art departments or inspiring examples when I was a kid."
"The Air Force took me to Europe, and on a pass to London, I went to a gallery and saw an original portrait for the first time," Acosta recalled. "It planted a seed of curiosity and for my remaining four years in the service, I went to every art gallery I saw."
A few years after his return to El Paso, Acosta wondered if moving to another city would benefit his art career. Advice from fellow artist Peter Hurd, who was working with Acosta in 1949 on a mural project, convinced him to stay.
"Hurd told me, ‘Everything you might want to paint is in you backyard,’" Acosta said. "Well, I looked in my yard and thought, he’s right, what a treasure lies there."
The treasure includes ordinary objects of all shapes and uses. Hats, articles of clothing, musical instruments and old lamps are stacked the inclination to paint a still life, he arranges some of the clutter into a balanced picture.
Acosta admitted that "getting started is not as difficult as mastering the craft. One of my weaknesses has always been slow improvement."
In addition to promoting art education for young persons, Acosta would like to see art reflected more strongly in city streets.
"This should be a time for fountains in parks, trees, statues and murals," Acosta contended. "There is a thriving atmosphere here for an artist colony, but we need the public to back it up."
Acosta has exhibited widely in the United States. He recently contributed work to a national show of American drawings in the Portsmouth Art Center in Virginia.
Sponsors of Acosta’s exhibit are Joy Martin, Margarita Blanco, Alicia Chacon, Alfonso Gallardo, Frank Galvan, Richard Telles, the Rev. Jesse Q. Munoz, Nash Navar, Manfred Silva and the most Rev. Sidney Metzger.