Preserving tradition - Joseph Chavez inspires faith through Old World art forms

By Mason Beecroft, Photography by Dave Crenshaw

Joseph Chavez has always had deep appreciation for tradition. His family legacy goes back to the founding and settling of Santa Fe, N.M., which dates to their arrival in the region in 1590. Then, in 1790, his ancestors moved to southern New Mexico for ranching and mining interests. There, he grew up with his grandparents in Deming, where they instilled in him a deep respect for both their family heritage and Catholic faith tradition.

“We were always brought up to be very proud of our art, culture and history,” said Mr. Chavez. “We are very fortunate that our history has been documented in various ways, and we have a very long and illustrious history. Antiques and art have always been a big part of my life. It is just the way I grew up. My faith, of course, has always been foremost in everything that I do.”

“I grew up in a very devout family. My grandparents raised me and my family throughout its history has been through a lot, but something that has never faltered was our faith. The faith was always there,” he continued.

This love for tradition, history and faith is evident at his Arte de Chavez Gallery located at 1401 E. Second St. in Tulsa. More than 6,000 square feet of space is filled with precious antiques, including furniture, clocks, jewelry and cars, as well as his works of art. Many of the antiques are family heirlooms and have been passed down for generations. While he has been an antique dealer for decades and has a

deep appreciation for their origin, craftsmanship and beauty, his true devotion is to his art, which focuses almost exclusively on his Catholic faith.

Mr. Chavez is an active member at Holy Family Cathedral and a Knight of Columbus. He considers the Church to be the most important aspect of his life. And as an award-winning Santero artist, he is

committed to expressing his Catholic faith through the depiction of saints and various religious scenes.

“Santero is the Spanish term for someone who paints saints or religious pictures,” explained Mr. Chavez. “I am very proud to call myself a Santero. There are women Santeras and men Santeros and it doesn’t

have to be paintings. It can be sculptures or any kind of work of art that is traditionally religious. It is an expression of faith through different mediums.”

Mr. Chavez works in extended artistic mediums and genres. His paintings, engravings, bronzes, ceramics, jewelry and murals reflect his ancestral past and interpret his cultural ties to the Southwest, Hispanic and Catholic communities. His extensive research into Spanish Colonial Art has produced a link between his ancestral past with his faith to create traditional religious works of art.

​​Spanish Colonial Art is a 17th century style that was once treasured by families in their private chapels and is now being recognized for its simplicity, beauty and collectability. The portrayal of various saints honors

their lives and good deeds so that the faithful may be encouraged to follow their example.

These are honored images in a home, just as one might honor the portraits of a family member or loved one. Joseph is thrilled with the resurgent interest in Spanish Colonial Art, as there is an increasing demand for his work by families creating private chapels in their homes.

“I do many pieces for private chapels,” he said. “I am glad to see more people doing this because Hispanic culture has a history of having chapels in the house, a designated area for prayer and devotion. Now, more

and more, people are creating sacred spaces in their homes and this reflects well on their faith.”

Mr. Chavez’ religious works are not limited to private chapels or individual collections. He has recently done two major projects for parishes in New Mexico and is currently working on a pair of triptychs that

will be placed in the side chapels at Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa. He is just beginning to work on the first triptych, which will depict Our Lady of Guadalupe.

As an historian and artist, Mr. Chavez creates his religious pieces to be appropriate to the culture, architecture and period of the particular space, with the hope that it will inspire the faith of the people. This is evident in his plan for the triptych of Our Lady of Guadalupe that is scheduled to be dedicated this December.

“The wonderful thing about this piece is that I am going to do it in the Renaissance style, using Renaissance techniques and materials,” said Mr. Chavez. “Hopefully it will be a piece that looks old and like it has always been at this beautiful French gothic cathedral. The mind-set I am taking is that I

am an Italian artist in Italy at the birth of the Renaissance and I hear this wonderful story about this apparition in 1531 of Our Lady of Guadalupe.”

In order to produce a triptych that will reflect the period, Mr. Chavez is incorporating marble for the gesso that comes from the same mines used by Michaelangelo. The blue dye that will be central to the painting

comes from the region in Mexico where Our Lady appeared and was also used by the indigenous people of that area for centuries.

In April of this year, Mr. Chavez completed the St. Michael the Archangel Mural at St. Ann Catholic Church in his childhood town of Deming, N.M. He worked nearly every day for two months to complete the

45 foot by 12 foot mural. He stopped only to join the congregation for Mass and to pray with them. It was during these Masses that he was inspired to include the faces of many of the people of the parish in the mural.

“Some people spotted themselves right away, and others didn’t,” he joked. At one Mass for the Blessing of the Sick he noticed a young boy who had an angelic countenance. “He had red hair and a cherubic face,” Mr. Sanchez explained.

“So I asked his dad if I could include him in the mural as an angel and he agreed. Then, at one event, the young boy came to me and said, ‘Mr. Chavez, my eyes aren’t blue, they are brown.’ So I went up there and changed the color of his eyes. After all, when he is grown, he is going to bring his family there and tell them that was him when he was 6 years old, and I wanted the painting to be correct,” he laughed.

When Mr. Chavez undertakes these projects, he considers it to be an opportunityto grow in his own faith and life of prayer. Not only is he able to meditate on the saint or religious scene that is being depicted,

he is also able to pray as he works.

“I was in fervent prayer the entire time I was at St. Ann Catholic Church. I get emotional at times, but I put a lot into it. I prayed the rosary the entire time and I prayed for everyone I could think of,” said

Mr. Chavez.

​​“These projects bolster my faith,” he continued. “Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the creation and by prayer. It is a God-given talent and I am very appreciative to God for everything that he has given me. I hope I am worthy enough in each project to be able to inspire faith and devotion to whatever saint I am depicting. It is a huge responsibility, but also an honor. I am very grateful.”

Mr. Chavez helped initiate a project in 2008 that was very important to his own faith and personal

history, and it came to fruition on Sept. 1, 2012, when the Infant Jesus Church in Hurley, N.M., was declared a Diocesan Shrine to the Santo Niño de Atocha. The Santo Niño Project was the inspiration of

Mr. Chavez and, in the near future, he hopes to begin restoring a large mural over the altar at the church.

“The Santo Niño de Atocha is very important in the Hispanic community and my whole life is dedicated to Him,” said Mr. Chavez. “At 3 months old, I had diphtheria and the doctors said I was not going to make

it. My family took turns staying up with me and watching me,” he explained. “So when I was a little better, my grandparents took me to this church with the beautiful statue of the Santo Niño de Atocha and they

pleaded with Him that if I were allowed to live, then they would dedicate their whole life to Him. They did and here I am many years later. So, I wanted to do something special to further devotion to the Holy Child. It was blessed as a diocesan shrine in 2012 and, hopefully, it will become a national shrine in ten years.”

Through his art and faith, Mr. Chavez desires to promote Catholic faith and to preserve the importance of tradition and history for future generations. “I want to make sure that things don’t get lost and traditions don’t get set aside,“ he said. “I come from a culture that reveres their women, children and family. Sadly,

so many of those values are now being cast aside by modern society. It becomes a challenge to keep people in their faith.”

Mr. Chavez’s art is produced in many mediums, including this leather book.depicting important moments in the life of Jesus.

You can view more of Mr. Chavez’ Santero art by visiting his website at www.artedechavez.com.