Christo Oropeza left college and worked at Just For Fun & Scribbledoodles when a customer noticed his sketchbook and offered help. The customer, Paul Mullins, identified himself as an arts professor and promised to help Oropeza enroll in required classes if he returned to school. That support marked the start of formal oil painting and drawing instruction and led to unexpected artistic growth. Years later, Oropeza became owner of Incline Gallery, a 15-year-old, tucked Valencia Street gallery with a wrought-iron gate, a sloped entrance, curated exhibitions and an upstairs workspace containing paint, brushes and Catholic relics.
It was, Oropeza recalls, "the beginning of me formally learning to paint in oil and to draw." It was also, he adds, a really beautiful moment. Once he was back in class, "unexpectedly, so many things sprouted."
17 years later, Christo - short for Christopher, or Cristóbal in Spanish - is the owner of Incline Gallery, a 15-year-old art gallery hidden on Valencia Street and tucked between Live Fit Gym and Bernal Cutlery. A wrought-iron gate shields the narrow, sloped passage to the gallery from view of most passers-by. Stepping inside feels like climbing a gentle hill - what Oropeza has described as " The Mission's Guggenheim." The space reveals itself gradually with exhibitions guiding visitors through a curated flow of artwork - each step shaped by Oropeza's vision.
Collection
[
|
...
]