CONTACT:
- Dr. Luz MarÃa Gordillo, Department of History, 360/546-9099, gordillo@vancouver.wsu.edu
- Sheri Byrd, Office of Marketing and Communications, 360/546-9602, byrds@vancouver.wsu.edu
VANCOUVER, Wash. - Beginning Aug. 18, the Washington State University Vancouver library gallery will feature the works of Peruvian born artist Efrain M. Diaz-Horna.
A long-time Salem, Ore., resident, Diaz-Horna's pen and watercolor works have been featured at art shows and exhibits throughout Oregon and Washington for almost 40 years.
Diaz-Horna has been drawing, painting and writing since he was a child. He has exhibited his art in Oregon, Mexico, Russia, and Peru.
"My art helps me in dealing with the existential predicament and adventure of living in the midst of another culture," he said. "It offers me the path to quench my compulsive need to approximate and recapture my Peruvian roots."
He was awarded a full scholarship to study at Mt. Angel College in Oregon, where he received his bachelor's degree in Sociology. He then returned to Peru where he worked in the land reform program. Two and a half years later, Diaz-Horna returned to the United States and completed two graduate degrees at the University of Wisconsin, one in Social Work and another in Public Policy and Public Administration.
For 25 years, he was employed by the State of Oregon and Multnomah County. Many of those years were spent as an Administrator for the Department of Aging and Disability Services. In March of 2001, he took early retirement to spend more time with his family and to focus on his writing, art, and consultation. Upon his leaving, one of his employees described Diaz-Horna as "a legend in our midst: philosopher, teacher, artist, poet, director—a true Renaissance Man."
His poetry has been published in Expreso, The Oregonian, The Hispanic News, The National Catholic Reporter, and several newsletters. He is the author of a collection of poems titled The Many Faces of Love (1983). He has been a member of the Oregon Council for the Humanities, The Regional Arts and Culture Council, the Oregon United Nations Association, and has chaired the Oregon Hispanic Commission.
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