Members – INSLET

Principal Investigator

Ramon Blanco-Barrera | Full-Time Faculty of Fine Arts at University of Seville, Spain

✉︎ rbb@us.es

Known in the art world as ‘233’, Dr. Ramon Blanco-Barrera is a Fulbright Scholar in Art, Multimedia and Social Justice at College of the Sequoias, California – United States of America. His extensive academic background includes a Ph.D., two MFA’s and two BFA’s, highlighting his interdisciplinary approach and commitment to community engagement through art. 233 is a faculty member at the University of Seville, Spain in the Department of Drawing, and has worked extensively with the Human Rights Research and Education Centre at the University of Ottawa, Canada. Additionally, he is an Advisory Board Member of the internationally recognized organization Emergent Art Space in San Francisco. During his time in the United States of America, Dr. Blanco-Barrera is working with COS students and all community, conducting postdoctoral research, teaching class, and creating the learning methodology and original art concept project ‘Lab for Wonderful Ideas: Where Virtual Meets Reality’.

As a Social Catalyst & Artist, he sends social and political messages intended to inspire people to reflect about their communities, both local and universal, typically about justice concepts, values, and critical thinking. By being a recipient of the Fulbright Program, Dr. Blanco-Barrera has become the only Faculty Member in history to receive this prestigious Award among the entire Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Seville. If you want to know more about him and/or his projects, please have a look to his social networks @233art

Principal Advisor

Richard Lubben | Dean of Arts and Letters at College of the Sequoias, USA

✉︎ richardl@cos.edu

Richard Lubben, an artist, educator and academic administrator, brings multicultural influences into his work, with deep ties to Hispanic communities across the U.S., Mexico, and the Caribbean. His creative work often reflects the beauty of simpler times, and engages in themes of social justice, focusing on the evolution of social interactions and work within traditional communities. He is also the founder of the Human Rights Art Exhibition that has provided international artists a platform to address difficult issues since 2006. His passion for art is deeply rooted in his academic background, having earned an MFA from the Instituto Allende in Mexico, a BA in Studio Art from California State University, Sacramento, and an AA from Cabrillo College in California.

Lubben’s academic and artistic journey took him across various institutions, including faculty positions at the PontificiaUniversidad Católica de Puerto Rico and South Texas College, a research position as the Visiting Fulbright Research Chair in Human Rights and Social Justice at the University of Ottawa, and Academic Dean positions at Lane Community College, and the College of the Sequoias. Explore more about Richard and his work at richardlubben.com and humanrightsartexhibit.com

Investigators

Amie T. Rangel | Adjunct Faculty of Fine Arts & COS Art Gallery Director at College of the Sequoias, USA

✉︎ amier@cos.edu

Amie T. Rangel is Director of the COS Art Gallery and an Adjunct Professor of Fine Art and at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California. She is passionate about teaching Art where she can introduce, engage and encourage students to develop a rich understanding of the fundamentals of Art as well as provide a positive learning environment for which students are able explore different creative practices, critically discuss and assess peer work while using appropriate vocabulary and art historical references. She has received the Adjunct Faculty Teaching Award in 2019 and 2021 at COS, and nominee for the Hayward Teaching Award for the California State Community College Educator of Excellence in 2013. As a Fine Artist, she is rooted in an observation-based and layered research practice that is shaped by an anthropological and intuitive approach to the subject matter, expressed through large-scale drawings on linen, mixed-media drawings on paper, lithography printmaking and installation. Rangel obtained a BFA in Drawing /Painting and Printmaking from California State University Long Beach and an MFA in Drawing and Intermedia from the University of Alberta in Canada. She has been awarded grants through the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Stonehouse Residency for Contemporary Artists, and more regionally as the Tulare County Arts Consortium 2021 Artist of the Year. Rangel exhibits nationally, such as the Appleton Museum of Art in Florida, Redline Gallery in Denver Colorado, and internationally at the Art Gallery of Alberta, University of Alberta – Calgary, as well as Vane Gallery as part of the UK Drawing! Conference held in England. She contributes to her local community as an advisory board member of Arts Visalia, CREATE TC, Museum Alliance of Tulare-Kings Counties, as well as through curatorial projects throughout the Central Valley region of California.

Celia Sanchez Morgado | Adjunct Faculty of Fine Arts at University of Seville, Spain

✉︎ csanchez2@us.es

Short Bio

Charles Neumann | Full-Time Faculty of 3-D Art at College of the Sequoias, USA

✉︎ rbb@us.es

Short Bio

Christina Lynch | Full-Time Faculty of Literature at College of the Sequoias, USA

✉︎ christinal@cos.edu

Christina Lynch’s picaresque journey includes chapters in Chicago and at Harvard, where she was an editor on the Harvard Lampoon. She was the Milan correspondent for W magazine and Women’s Wear Daily, and disappeared for four years in Tuscany. In L.A. she was on the writing staff of Unhappily Ever After; Encore, Encore; The Dead Zone and Wildfire.

She now lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. She is the co-author of two novels under the pen name Magnus Flyte. She teaches at College of the Sequoias. In her own name, Lynch is the author of The Italian Party and Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure.

Gonzalo Lopez Ortega | Adjunct Faculty of Fine Arts at University of Seville, Spain

✉︎ glopez3@us.es

Short Bio

Juan Pablo Mora | Full-Time Faculty of Linguistics at University of Seville, Spain

✉︎ jmora@us.es

I have a degree in Anglo-Germanic Philology from the University of Seville, a Master’s degree in Linguistics from Indiana University and a PhD in English Linguistics from the University of Seville. I have been a professor at the Department of Spanish Language, Linguistics and Theory of Literature at the University of Seville since 2002. I currently teach at undergraduate and master’s levels. I have directed numerous undergraduate and master’s degree projects related to Spanish Sign Language and applied linguistics.

My research career focuses on language teaching and the linguistics and sociolinguistics of Spanish sign language. I have directed 3 doctoral theses on teaching Spanish as a second language. I study language teaching and learning. My most recent research focuses on the teaching and learning of linguistics. I am a member of the research group for studies of translation and interpretation of Spanish and signed languages at the University of Vigo (ESTUDIOS-GRILES). Our latest research project funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, within the 2022 knowledge generation program, is entitled «Development of a subcorpus of register and style of deaf signers as a reference for LSE in the CORALSE corpus» (01/09/2023 to 31/08/2027) and is part of a sign language documentation project in three aspects: acquisition, reference signers and translation. I am also a member of the HUM 972 Biolinguistics research group.

Lia Vilahur Chiaraviglio | Full-Time Faculty of Digital Communication and Design at Reutlingen University, Germany

✉︎ lia.vilahur_chiaraviglio@reutlingen-university.de

Lia Vilahur Chiaraviglio is a Full-Time Professor at Reutlingen University, Germany, specializing in Digital Communication and Design. With over 20 years of teaching experience and more than a decade as a designer, she has focused her research in the fields of visual communication and Color material and trends. Her design works have been exhibited in 16 countries, including museums, galleries, and university exhibitions. Vilahur co-wrote the book Drawing for Graphic Designers, showcasing her expertise in visual communication. She is the Executive Director of CEIDA (chain Europe international design and culture association) and Honorary President of KSBDA (Korea Art and design Eduction Association) and she actively contributes as a speaker at international design conferences.

She co-founded and managed Inlight design SCP, a multidisciplinary design studio, and has held academic leadership roles, including Program Leader for the Bachelor in Graphic Communication. She has also taught at the Istituto Europeo di Design in Barcelona for 11 years. She holds a degree in Art History from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, a BA in Interior Design from IED Milan, and additional studies in Renewable Energies and Sustainability.

Maria del Mar Garcia-Jimenez | Full-Time Faculty of Fine Arts at University of Seville, Spain

✉︎ mgarcia35@us.es

Short Bio

Matthew Rangel | Full-Time Faculty of 2-D Art at College of the Sequoias, USA

✉︎ matthewra@cos.edu

Matthew Rangel grew up in the southern part of California’s Great Central Valley, a region challenged with socioeconomic, ecological and environmental concerns. This background played a significant role in his creative inquiry of how human constructs of land shape our experience of place.

In pursuit of an academic career path, Matthew became an Assistant Professor of Printmaking at the University of New Mexico (2013-2018). However, in 2018 he was called back to the Central Valley and landed his current role as the 2-D Professor of Art at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California. Matthew loves being back home and has a young family.

Matthew’s artwork depicting the Sierra Nevada Mountains has been featured in numerous shows nationally, internationally, and are included in collections such as the Stonehouse Residency for the Contemporary Arts, the White House in Washington DC, the Urban Land Institute in Washington DC, and at Mount Tai National Park in China. Among notable publications that feature his work are «Journeys beyond the Neatline: Expanding the boundaries of cartography», a monograph published by University of Alberta Libraries and “A Map of the World: According toIllustrators and Storytellers”, an international graphic arts anthology published by Gastalten, Berlin. He has also been featured in The Journal of Landscape Architecture, Adventure Journal, GEO Magazine (Germany) and Walden Magazine (Hamburg Germany) twice. Rangel’s works are prominently displayed in the El Capitan Hotel, The Darling Hotel and The Nomad Los Angeles. His art aims to express layered substance about our environment and culture – not just the inherent or perceived beauty of place. To visualize this, he uses traditional printmaking processes that enable him to express creative inquiry in a layered format where each layer is encoded with place-based research and meaning. You can view Matthew’s art at rangelstudio.com

Natalia Herrera Pombero | Adjunct Faculty of Fine Arts at University of Seville, Spain

✉︎ nherrera@us.es

Natalia Herrera Pombero is an artist and architect from Badajoz who is currently in the PhD Program Art and Heritage at the University of Seville (Spain), developing her thesis under the tutelage of Manuel Fernando Mancera Martínez.

After obtaining the Extraordinary High School Prize in Extremadura, she graduated in Architecture from the School of Architecture of Seville. There she was awarded the Erasmus+ scholarship, for which she studied for two semesters at Krakowska Akademia im. Andrzeja Frycza-Modrzewskiego, in Krakow. Subsequently, she completed her studies in the degree of Fine Arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Seville, culminating them as the best record of her promotion, obtaining the Real Maestranza de Caballería Prize and the homologues awarded by the City Council of Seville and the University of Seville. Prior to entering the Doctorate Program, she completed a Master’s Degree in Teaching in Compulsory Secondary Education and Baccalaureate.

After working as a freelance architect and artist and joining the research group HUM-337, with which she participates through participation in group exhibitions and contributions in various publications, she is awarded a PIF Predoctoral contract for the Development of the Own R+D+i Program in Areas of Special Attention of the US, within the VI Own Research and Transfer Plan of the University of Seville, joining the Department of Drawing of the Faculty of Fine Arts.

Paula Antela-Costa | Teaching Associate of Spanish at University of Bristol, UK

✉︎ p.antelacosta@bristol.ac.uk

Short Bio

Raquel Serrano | Adjunct Faculty of Fine Arts at University of Seville, Spain

✉︎ rserrano1@us.es

Raquel Serrano has a degree in Fine Arts and a Master’s degree in Art: Idea and Production, where she obtained the Extraordinary End of Studies Award from the University of Seville. She is currently working on her PhD and teaches in the drawing department, as well as researching in the group HUM822: Graphics and Digital Creation at the same university. In 2022, she carried out an artistic research internship at the UAL (University of the Arts London).

Her work has been presented in solo exhibitions at Espacio Laraña, Digallery, Arte-Santander International Contemporary Art Fair or Centro Párraga and was selected for the conference «A Secas, Andalusian artists of today» organized by CAAC (Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo) in 2019 and for the Genalguacil Art Encounters in 2020. She has participated in the International Meeting of Emerging Graphic Art OPEN PORTFOLIO FIG BIL-BAO 2019 and in international fairs such as ARCOmadrid, in the booth of Genalguacil Pueblo Museo in 2021 and Diputación de Huelva in 2022 as well as in the fair Estampa with Digallery in 2021 and 2022. Her works are in the collection of the CAAC (Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo) and the MAC (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Genalguacil).

Name Lastname | Position at Institution, Country

✉︎ email@institution.edu

Short Bio

Advisors

Antonio Bautista | Full-Time Faculty of Fine Arts at University of Seville, Spain

✉︎ abduran@us.es

Figurative artist. Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics and Printmaking. First class of his generation: 1983-88. Research Fellow 01/10/1989 – 30/10/1992. PhD in Fine Arts 14/07/1994. Associate Professor 01/11/1992 – 21/03/2002. Head of the Hum 552 Research Group since 1997. Full-Time Professor 22/03/2002 – present.

Director of the Department of Drawing 11/04/2011 – 07/05/2015. He served as Vice-Dean of International Relations and External Placements. He has 10 theses supervised.