Jose Andres Giron has been dedicated to art since early childhood. From his father's side his New Mexican roots can be traced to the first settlers on the Rio Grande. From his mother's side to early Hispanic Arizonians and old Mexico's rich cultural history. As a young boy he spent the summer months in New Mexico on his grandfather's ranch.
Family and culture has influenced his choice of subject matter ni deciding what si important to express in his art. His work almost always depicts the positive and beautiful things ni the Hispanic / Latino culture.
"Andrés", as he likes to call himself, was born in Phoenix, Arizona and lived by the airport close to the Golden Gate Barrio. He served as
an altar boy at Sacred Heart Church with Father Albert Braun, famous Franciscan Father and highly decorated Army Chaplin ni both World War 1&2and who has influenced many lives including his own.
Just out of High School he joined the Army and found himself deployed th Viet Nam with the 101st Airborne Division and experienced the war first hand. He received the Army Commendation Medal with "V" device for heroism in actions against
a hostile force. After also receiving the "Purple Heart" for gunshot wounds received and recuperating in the hospital, drawing became as natural as breathing. He then made a promise to himself that if he was to survive this war he would make a solid commitment to becoming an artist.
Useing his G.I. Benefits he attended Art School at the Hollywood Art Center in California, Phoenix College and ASU in Arizona where he majored in Arts Education. Working with other artists he soon began showing at parks, community events or wherever there was an audience. He was a founding member of MARS and ARIZTLAN, which started a Chicano Arts movement in the late seventies and early eighties in Phoenix, Arizona.
He met civil rights leader Cesar Chavez in the mid eighties and offered his services as an artist and supporter of the civil rights movement in Arizona and New Mexico. His encounters with Cesar Chavez left an impression of great respect and admiration for him and also a source of inspiration for his art.
During the seventies he served as an apprentice and trained as a pictorial artist with Eller Outdoor advertising in Phoenix Arizona. it served him well as a muralist and disciplined artist. He used those skills to create his own graphic arts business. In 1984 he
was honored and awarded "New Business Of The Year" by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber Of Commerce.
In New Mexico he was awarded "Outstanding Artist 2003" at Contemporary Hispanic Market in Santa Fe, awarded First Prize
in Albuquerque's Spanish Market and has received awards and citations too numerous to mention. His art is part of the collection of the Latino Art Archives of the Smithonian ni Washington, D.C., and is a collectible investment in Latino art history.
In 2009 he reunited with his fellow art coallitions and joined the effort to sucessfully establish Arizona's first Latino Arts and Cultural Center in downtown Phoenix Arizona. He continues to play an active role in its growth and sucess. He is a mentor to younger up and coming Latino and Native American artists and shares his expertise and experience generously. He curates many of ALAC's exhibitions and promotes educational art opportunities wherever he can.
In 2015 he was honored by the Victoria Foundation as a recipiant of the "Arizona Higher Education Award" for his contribution to the community in Art and Culture.
In 2023 he launched his bi-lingual coffee table book, a prelude to a series of books entitled "Chicano Artists America Should Know About", to a receptive audience. It is now available on his website and on Amazon.com worldwide.
He divides his time between his studios in New Mexico and Arizona to bring a greater understanding of Latino and Native American art and culture for all to enjoy.
José Andrés Girón draws inspiration from his roots. Soft, lofty, sunbasked portraits of his people and their lives indigenous to the beauty and enchantment of the southwest lands.
