Nick Ryan Gallery presents Página Ex Libris (A Page from My Book), a solo exhibition of new work by Emilio Lobato.
“Collage has been the backbone of my creative practice as long as I can remember. I’ve long utilized handmade and Japanese papers, recycled paper, and most importantly, book pages. Initially, I used book pages for texture but quickly realized that text lent many layers of meaning in my compositions. History, information, and language has become significant in my work. Some of the first artists credited with the use of collage were Picasso & Braque. Picasso famously incorporated newspaper because it made his work feel ‘modern’ and ‘of the day.’ It plays an opposite role in my work. I’ve used vintage and antique materials because I’m drawn to the ideas of nostalgia and memory.
The current work in Página Ex Libris includes vintage maps of the ocean floors, 100-year-old Japanese merchant ledgers, and music from player pianos. They signify place, proximity, and record keeping.”
Emilio Lobato, 2025
Emilio Lobato is a Colorado artist. Born and raised in San Pablo, a village 7 miles from San Luis, the oldest town in Colorado. Of Spanish Colonial ancestry, Lobato is the 16th generation of his fathers family in the U.S. In 1982 he earned. B.A. degree in Art from Colorado College, where he studied with printmaker and painter, Mary Chenoweth and sculptor, Carl Reed. In 1986 Lobato guest curated a Day of the Dead Mexican folk art exhibit for the Denver Art Museum as part of a NEH internship completed there. From 1989 to 1992 Lobato worked as Education Administrator in the Education Department at the Denver Art Museum. Since 1992 Lobato has been pursuing his studio practice full time. Additionally he has guest curated exhibitions for the Mizel Museum of Judaica, the Denver Arts Students League, and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. In 2011 Lobato was the subject of a mid-career retrospective at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, titled Mi Linda Soledad (My Beautiful Solitude). Lobato work has been represented in galleries nationally, and is included in countless private and public collections nationally and internationally. Lobato has lived and worked in Denver since 1985. In 2023, a 40 year survey of his work was held at the Arvada Center in Colorado.