I was delighted and honored to be asked to write this foreword. It has been my good fortune to be acquainted with the Magazu family for over four decades. The Magazu’s are a close-knit family made up of artists, musicians and creatives. Arthur and Brenda were high school sweethearts and will soon celebrate 45 years of marriage.
They are kindred souls that enjoy a strong bond and a unified sense of purpose. Theirs is a love story for the ages. Art has always been of paramount importance to them. Even as newlyweds with small children they strived to cultivate a home filled with art, flowers and music.
This magnificent collection was never derived for financial gain but rather for the sole purpose of enriching their lives and the lives of those around them as well as serving as an enduring legacy to be appreciated for generations to come.
Early on. when Arthur would unveil the newest addition to their collection, we would good-naturedly quip “ah another Brenda look alike.” Clearly Brenda Was Arthur’s muse. But after all, shouldn't art be a reflection of the people we love, the memories we hold dear and the hope of things to come.
Over the years they developed a keen eye and possessed an innate gift for discovering and bringing to light remarkable talent. The Works presented in this book are enchanting and poetic.
This is a sophisticated collection consisting of diverse and empathetic personalities represented in a multitude of mediums. A great many of the art works included are saturated in bold and vivid colors that stir our emotions. The artist’s techniques are masterful. Their striking compositions are engaging granting the viewer an opportunity to quietly commune with and contemplate these captivating works of art. They are rich in narrative while at the same time they remain subjective and open to personal interpretation.
D. Patrick Reilly, Artist and Curator of Morning Cup of Art
It was on a weekend in July of the summer of 1993 when we quite unintentionally became art collectors. We had just moved into Brenda’s dream home, a 250-year-old dilapidated Greek Revival and it was July, and It was hot, and I do mean hot. The windows in the main house, all painted shut did not open and so the four of us (Brenda, me and the two boys) were huddled in an adjacent outbuilding that was affectionately known as” The Studio”. We were all in there because it had an old air conditioner that blew hot air, and it brought some sort of relief.
After discussion about how to escape the oppressive heat it was decided that we would take a drive to the Chestnut Hill Mall to cool off. At some point in the mall visit Brenda left me with the two boys while she disappeared off to shop.
About a half hour later Brenda excitedly returned impatiently waving her arms asking me to “come see, come see”. As usual I just sort of loudly grunted “see what, see WHAT”? Refusing to tell me what I was going to look at she took us all deep into an art gallery where there was a painting, a figurative, that she insisted she could not live without. The image was of a young woman holding flowers standing thoughtfully next to a tranquil stream. I never really thought about art or artists much up till then, but she was so excited about it and that made me happy. And so, over the next week after thoughtful consideration and discussions with the gallery I signed a two-year financing contract for $3600.00 and the painting came home with me. The painting by artist Juan Mondero Rosell, born 1947, hung in our home for the next 30 years and so it turned out that it was just the first of many paintings we would later take home with us. All figurative, all female form.
A.D. Magazu
