Artist hopes Trios gallery plays role in downtown revitalization

By Scott Meeker

smeeker@joplinglobe.com

From the smallest of grains come the most intricate of buildings.

That’s part of Jorge Levya’s fascination with birds and their nests — the different ways the dwellings are constructed and how they develop as the birds work on them.

“It’s like humans trying to build their houses in different ways,” says the Joplin artist. “It attracts different things and it makes them individuals. That’s our focus in life: how we build things around us.”

Levya uses the theme of nests to express social, political and religious ideas in many of his paintings, which he has exhibited in galleries across the country.

An exhibit of some of his most recent works will debut today for the opening of Trios Contemporary Art Gallery.

Located in the former Watts Paint Co. building, 112 S. Main St., the gallery is one component of a business venture that will become another step in the revitalization of downtown Joplin.

Much of Levya’s subject matter is influenced by his surroundings, and now the artist is taking pride in the fact that his own efforts are contributing to what he hopes will be a permanent nesting place for the arts.

‘The right time’

Levya, who came to Joplin from Lima, Peru, nearly 30 years ago, said the city became more than just a place to live. It became his home.

Over time, he says he built up a network of people who encouraged his artistic talents and helped him realize that he could become a professional artist.

“I had always done (art), but I had never wanted to be a professional artist,” he says. “When you have a Spanish background, unless you come from a rich family ... if you’re of modest means, the last thing your family would want you to be is an artist.”

After getting his bachelor of arts degree from Missouri Southern State University and his master’s at Pittsburg (Kan.) State University, he attended the California College of the Arts in San Francisco to get his master’s of fine arts degree. Though he was gone for three years, he had no qualms about returning to Joplin.

“I have been all over the country, and I’ve had shows everywhere,” he said. “There is nothing like the people in Joplin ... the people here are wonderful.

“I feel free here. I have the freedom to go anywhere I want in the country. If I want to go to New York, I go to New York and spend a couple of weeks there. If I want to go to California, I go to California. But when I come back, I feel free again. Joplin is that kind of place for me.”

A painter and sculptor, Levya also has established a permanent studio near the Royal Heights area in north Joplin. The building is nestled back in the woods — a location that offers him a chance to find inspiration in nature simply by looking out of his window.

While most of Levya’s artistic endeavors have taken him around the country, Levya says he feels a commitment to making the arts more prominent in his hometown.

“My job in Joplin is to make possible that things in the arts are noticed and are part of the community,” he says. “I have been interested in seeing art become a little more permanent here.

“If you think about Main Street, it’s becoming this wonderful place. The arts are coming in, nice stores are coming in. It’s the right time for a contemporary gallery — or even any kind of gallery — to be a part of it. As Joplin grows and newer things start coming in, art should be (part of it).”

Trios

Last year, Levya collaborated on a steel and ceramic abstract rendering with fellow artist Jed Schlegel. The sculpture was being mounted at the George A. Spiva Center for the Arts with the assistance of several volunteers.

Among those volunteers was David Robinson, a Spiva member who came to lend a hand.

Robinson — a former Joplin High School basketball player who went on to play for the University of Missouri-Kansas City and for teams in France, Germany and other parts of Europe — felt called to get involved with Joplin’s revitalization when he and his wife moved back to the United States several years ago.

The couple oversaw the renovation of the Adele apartment building on North Sergeant in 2007.

Robinson has long held an interest in local history and was looking for a way to get involved in downtown Joplin. He said that his friend Robert Rice owned the Watts building and that the idea for Trios came down to timing and availability.

“(Robert) let me run with this,” Robinson said.

In addition to the contemporary art gallery, Trios will include a “man cave” area that will emphasize local sports, while the center portion will be more of a gathering area that emphasizes local history and will offer a place to socialize, get a drink or enjoy appetizers.

When considering devoting space to contemporary arts, Robinson said that he immediately thought of Levya, who he had met while helping to mount the sculpture at Spiva.

“I called one person,” Robinson said. “I asked Jorge, ‘Do you think it could work?’ And, ‘Do you want to be a part of it?’”

A stepping stone

The debut of Levya’s exhibit — titled “Natural Builders” — will serve as the official opening for the Trios gallery as well as a soft opening for the other areas of the business.

A ribbon cutting and grand opening for Trios is set — appropriately enough — for the third Thursday of the month.

The gallery will be open from 1 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, but it will always be accessible at other times when Trios is open. Exhibits will likely remain on display for at least six weeks.

Levya and Robinson say that they feel that the time is right for expanding the role that the arts plays in downtown Joplin, especially given the city’s revitalization efforts in the last few years.

Both men praise City Manager Mark Rohr’s efforts in the transformation of the downtown.

“You’re really starting to see the momentum from that,” Robinson says.

Rohr says that an emphasis on encouraging the arts in the city of Joplin was part of the last envisioning process undertaken by the City Council.

“We wish them well,” he said of the Trios venture.

In his experience as city manager in other cities, Rohr says he has seen the positive role the arts can play.

“We’ve seen the start of movements that emphasize the arts, and I think it gives you a more eclectic representation of what downtown has to offer,” he said.

Levya envisions the gallery’s opening as a small step in a much larger picture for Joplin.

“If David is gutsy enough to go all the way with it, it could become a nationally known place,” Levya says. “It could be a place where artists not only from Joplin or our metropolitan area are represented, but also nationally. That’s the way every gallery starts. It starts with the locals; it starts small and expands.

“But even if it doesn’t happen, at least it would be leaving this stepping stone for other galleries somewhere to have a start. Art has always been an enhancement in the growth of a city.”

Want to go?

The opening of Levya’s exhibit at Trios Contemporary Art Gallery will begin at 6 p.m. today. Rebecca Luebber and Friends will perform from 8 to 9 p.m. The event is open to the public. Throughout the month of May, Levya will be on hand to work with other artists from 3 to 5 p.m. at the gallery.

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