Dream Weaver Nicaraguan Artist Barberena Paints Surreal, Musical Images by Gary Tischler Cesar Barberena doesnít gesture dramatically or speak loudly. Heís easy to talk to, open, friendly and still carries the accent of his native Nicaragua. He doesnít look like the kind of man who would produce paintings that resemble throbbing dreams, secrets coming out to roost, universal images, both musical and strangeóbut he does. Barberenaís surreal artwork, when you can find it, is full of gorgeous, humming colorsóblues and greens blessed by lightóas well as totemic imagery, such as nudes, stoic, powerful animals, broken things and broken flesh. ìYes, Dali is a kind of influence,î Barberena said. ìAnd dreamsóyou work from dreams and reality both. And I love color.î His paintings are not small, neither in size nor in content and theme. And yet, like the subjects of dreams, his work is something of a secret, even though he has exhibited at the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank Cultural Center and the Ira Pinto Gallery, among other venues, since his arrival in the United States in 1990. In fact, the best place to currently catch a number of his paintings on display is at the offices of Dr. Steven Hopping of The Center for Cosmetic Surgery on M Street close to Georgetown. There, Barberenaís eye-catching, soothing paintings, many of them quite large, line the walls of the reception area and hallways. The paintings are here because Hopping and his Nicaraguan-born wife Julia are avid, passionate collectors of Barberenaís work. Most of the works are, in fact, for sale, and a portion of the proceeds of the sales go to the Future of Nicaragua Foundation. The organization, which is co-chaired by the Hoppings, was established to improve health care conditions in Nicaragua, increase educational opportunities with scholarship assistance, and preserve and foster the countryís rich cultural heritage through exchange programs. After her first encounter with Barberenaís work, Julia Hopping became both a fan and patron. ìWe are fanatics when it comes to Cesar,î she said. ìHis work is incredibly powerful. If we could, weíd buy everything. As it is, I think we have collected quite a bit of his work. A few of the paintings here are ours, but most of them are for sale. It hurts to let any of them go, believe me. Iíve seen the responses when people come here and see his workî Barberena came by his artistic prowess both naturally and through training. His father Roberto was a gifted watercolorist who introduced his son to art. He died when Barberena was a young child. Barberenaís brothers are also artists of considerable talent. ìMy father taught me when I was small,î Barberena said. ìI still remember that. His watercolors were beautiful works.î In Nicaragua, Barberena attended the School of Fine Arts in Granada and the National School of Arts in Managua before war interrupted his training. Barberena was forced to enter his countryís military during its civil wars and ended up having to make propaganda posters for the Sandinista government. When things calmed down in Nicaragua, he took an opportunity to come to the United States and wound up in Miami, before coming to Washington when an artist friend who was moving to New York offered him a place to stay. ìI never came back,î Barberena said of returning to Nicaragua. ìI would have been called back to the army, and I wouldnít have been doing posters. But it was hard here. You do what you have to do to survive and still be an artistóbartending, driving, working different jobs.î Today, individuals and would-be patrons, as well as other artists and writers have noticed Barberenaís work. He has had individual exhibitions at the University Club Art Gallery, the Moscoso Gallery, the Embassy of Nicaragua and in group shows at the Mexican Cultural Institute, the Ellipse Arts Center in Arlington, Va., the Art Museum of the Americas and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. Writing on a series of luminous, powerfully affecting dance paintings, Leo Raditsa, a former art professor at St. Johnís College in Annapolis, Md., called Barberena a ìpainter who thinks with his brush.î Another description, by Nicaraguan artist Omar DíLeon, said that Barberena ìsearches for mystery, the magnificence of colors against light and shadow that provokes an inevitable charm of sensual beauty.î Barberena, who lives in Washington, D.C., on Georgia Avenue, is currently working on a series of paintings featuring the Grand Canyon. His oil paintings as well as his watercolors and lithographs clearly inspire praise. Thereís a literature in his colors and oceans of words in his dreams and content. And like dreams themselves, the paintings of Barberena haunt the imagination. Gary Tischler is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.