April 2022

Tugboat Gallery Proudly Presents “¡Abierto!” featuring Byron Anway, Belen Catalan, Chas Hymanand Qiqe Panqeqi Martinez

Curated by Byron Anway, Abierto is a show of drawings, paintings, and sculpture by Anway as well as three current University of Nebraska – Lincoln’s Art, Art History and Design undergraduate students Belen Catalan, Chas Hyman, and Qiqe Panqeqi Martinez. In Abierto, four artists reimagine their past, present, and future selves. Stories become memories; personal and cultural heritage are evaluated for honesty and accuracy. The student artists exhibiting in Abierto were selected because of their talent, vision, work ethic, and dedication to their practice. Themes include childhood, religion, queerness, loss, and play.

Byron Anway

Byron Anway is an Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in the School of Art, Art History, and Design. His recent works draw on memories of teaching and traveling overseas, particularly in Morocco. Among other venues, his work has been exhibited at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, NE, Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, OH, and the Soo Visual Arts Center in Minneapolis. His work has been published twice in New American Paintings the West, Manifest Creative Research International Painting Annual, and the Prairie Schooner.

Chas Hyman

Contemporary painter and drawer Chas Hyman is a black female surrealist. She creates magical and imaginative portraits that are representative of her own personal childhood and experience coping with mental illness, grief, and isolation. Chas has always been inspired by contemporary surrealist artists such as Mark Ryden and Marion Peck, and one of her goals is to add the black perspective and representation into the growing collection of contemporary surrealist work. Chas is almost always listening to her favorite artists while creating work, enjoys her cat being by her side during studio time. Chas currently lives in Lincoln, Nebraska as an art student at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln but sees herself moving to the Pacific Northwest in the future to be alongside the rich geographical features of the area.

Belen Catalan

Belen Catalan is an undergraduate fine arts major at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They graduated from Grand Island Senior High School in 2020. Currently they are based in Lincoln, Nebraska. Belen works with several media ranging from plaster, fabric, and found objects to graphite works on paper. Their work explores themes of cuteness, fragility, femininity and Mexican queerness.

Qiqe Panqeqi Martinez

Qiqe Panqeqi Martinez is an artist from Grand Island, Ne. She is currently an undergraduate studio art major at UNL. Her paintings and drawings explore transgender identity and first-generation Mexican experiences.