HOUSTON — On Thursday, March 22, noted Spanish artist Cristóbal Toral opened his first ever exhibition in Texas at Houston’s critically-acclaimed Art of the World Gallery. Titled The Permanent Voyage, this exhibition of Toral’s work takes art aficionados on a journey through time and space, inspiring conversation around his unique artistic influences and politically charged issues like immigration. Noted for his use of pictorial and magical realism to portray the journeys through life that we all lead, Toral and his works are characteristic of the diversity and inclusion that Houston itself embodies.

Toral’s works filled with his quintessential motif – luggage – proved most captivating to the attendees at the exhibition launch. As a tangible representation of the journey, and without distinctly displaying a beginning and ending, Toral imparts elements of the human experience on everyone, regardless of race, religion, status, or ethnicity.

Armandos – enlisted to provide levity and excitement for the evening – supplied light bites and passed hors d’oeuvres of tuna tartare on a crispy wonton shell with creamy avocado; toasted bruschetta topped with slow-cooked pork carnitas; shredded chicken mole sopesitos atop black bean puree; and endive stuffed with smoked salmon, goat cheese, and fried capers. Edrington Group provided a selection of Tequila Partida for guests to sample, in addition to champagne and wine.

The stylish guests who took The Permanent Voyage included Cristóbal Toral and his wife Marisa Oropesa; Art of the World Gallery owners Liliana Molina and Mauricio Vallejo; Carolyn Farb, Joann and Bill Crassas, Phyllis Ashley, Parris Beverly, Rosanna Andreoli, Santiago and Cecilia Pacheco, Franck and Dorene Herzog, Luis Ruiz, Ellen and Tony Williford, Bill Krewson, Diane Angel, and Carlos Zubizarreta.