Martin Delabano Receives Distinguished Texas Artist Award
Martin Delabano, artist, art teacher and community member, has been selected by the Fort Worth Community Arts Center to receive its 2010 Distinguished Texas Artist award. The Fort Worth Community Arts Center is mounting an exhibition of Mr. Delabano’s work titled An Artful Life. The exhibition will run from September 11 through October 23 at the Center. An artist reception will be held Saturday, September 11, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. in conjunction with the Fort Worth Art Dealers Association’s Fall Gallery Night.
The pieces included in this mixed-media exhibition feature textural assemblages of hundreds of found objects. “Layered, stacked and packed into the frame, life’s discarded minutiae coalesce into a singular narrative. It’s abstract, yet deliberate; full, but not chaotic. The overall effect is one of abundance, of visual wealth,” says art historian Elizabeth Delaney of Delabano’s artwork.
Delabano’s artistic and humanitarian contributions to the community led to his selection for the Distinguished Texas Artist award. In addition to making art, he teaches art classes to middle school students at St. John’s Episcopal School. For 20 years, he has shared his knowledge of and passion for art with scores of St. John’s students, many of whom have graduated to attend Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Even after graduation, his former students maintain their ties with Mr. D, as he is known around the school, chatting on the alumni Facebook page he moderates and catching up at reunions.
Delabano’s commitment to Carter Blood Care Center has been another constant in his life. Over the years, he has donated more than 21 gallons of blood platelets to Carter. “I have been blessed in this life,” says Delabano, who began donating when two of his friends were affected by cancer, “and I want to do something to give back.”
For Delabano, art serves not only as a means of self-expression, but also as a hook for engaging others; a way for him to give thanks for all he has, and at the same time, joy to others. Says Delabano, “I am an artist – not with the singular vision I had as a young man – but one who is living an artful life; and it’s a rich life, indeed.”