The Ricardo Penalver Chronicle: (1937-1995) A Retrospection of an American Surrealist
Welcome to the Ricardo Penalver Chronicle, the official online retrospective of self-taught American surrealist Ricardo Penalver. His paintings bring together vivid colors, dreamlike symbolism, and a fearless spirit that turned a life of change into art that still moves people today.
This retrospective brings his paintings and life story together, exploring the emotional intensity, surrealist imagination, and connection to social change that distinguish his work.
His lifelong partner, Alexa Bryson, curated this collection to keep his work alive and share it with new generations. It is an invitation to spend time with the art he created and the legacy he leaves behind.
Whether you are a collector, an art historian, or discovering his art for the first time, there is an opportunity here to explore the power of art to communicate human resilience. Step inside and marvel at his paintings, discover his remarkable story, and bring home an original work from our Store or a reproduction from our Shop.
Ricardo Penalver, in his own words
My Most of All Conflicts, Am I My Body?
My Most of All Conflicts,
Am I My Body?
Absolutely Not!
I've come to realize this with other facts, realities!
There is more!
Which is why I must alter my consciousness more and more ...
Which is why I shall, must, resolve this recent awareness!!!
Hooray!
Ricardo Penalver, 1991
Ricardo Penalver: Seated Man Dancing
A Petite Penalver Lithograph
Microsoft's Accessible Technology Group
Ricardo Penalver: The Story Behind Seated Man Dancing
Seated Man Dancing expresses a turning point in Ricardo Penalver’s life—a renewed sense of possibility through art. After a life-changing injury left him paralyzed, Ricardo transformed his personal challenges into creative expression. The painting gives voice to his resilience and determination as he faced profound physical and psychological obstacles.
That personal expression reached a wider audience when Microsoft’s Accessible Technology Group selected Seated Man Dancing to commemorate three occasions: the 10th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, President Clinton’s Digital Divide announcement in Flint, Michigan, and the 25th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The painting was then licensed and produced as a Petite Penalver limited-edition lithograph and distributed worldwide as a holiday gift. Through that edition, new audiences encountered Ricardo’s art and the message of dignity, perseverance, and possibility at the heart of Seated Man Dancing.
The Connection Ricardo Hoped to Make
Months before his death, Ricardo told Alexa that he wanted to call Christopher Reeve after the accident that left Christopher paralyzed. Ricardo had hoped to offer Christopher a few words of encouragement, drawn from his own experience of rebuilding a life after paralysis.
Although they never had that conversation, five years after Ricardo’s death, Microsoft sent a Petite Penalver lithograph of Seated Man Dancing to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation. There, the painting reached Dana and Christopher.
Dana and Chris contacted Alexa Bryson Art and said they were both “completely blown away” by the painting—by its artistry and its emotional impact.
"Hi, my husband is Christopher Reeve, better known to many as Superman, and we received a Petite Penalver in the mail from Microsoft. We were completely blown away by the painting; Seated Man Dancing. It just seems so perfect. Not only do we respond to the painting on a visceral level aesthetically, but we are tremendously moved by the meaning behind the form."
Dana and Christopher Reeve - 2000
Ricardo Penalver: Portrait of an Artist
ABILITY Magazine
ABILITY Magazine will also receive a Petite Penalver limited edition lithograph from Microsoft’s Accessible Technology Group, highlighting the connection between accessibility, inclusive technology, and the artwork of Ricardo Penalver.
In 2000, the magazine reproduced Penalver’s Seated Man Dancing Petite Penalver, introducing readers to the artist’s expressive work and message.
“ABILITY Magazine wishes to thank Microsoft, for this thoughtful expression and share the artist’s message for all to experience ...”
The following month, ABILITY Magazine published Ricardo Penalver - Portrait of an Artist, a multi-page feature that shared his story with its audience and included photographs of his artwork. The article helped connect Penalver’s artistic vision with readers interested in disability culture, accessible design, inclusive storytelling, and the role of art in expanding public awareness.
Ricardo Penalver:A Parliament of Owls,
Promotional Calendar
CA Governor's Disability Employment Awareness
The Pen’s Pals Promotional Calendar was created in partnership with the California Governor’s Committee for Employment of Disabled Persons to showcase Ricardo Penalver’s owl artwork and promote disability employment awareness in California.
Ricardo Penalver loved owls and featured them throughout his surrealist artwork. His unique flock of owls, each with distinctive and sometimes unusual characteristics, became the artist’s companions as well as important sources of humor and inspiration. He often painted quirky, colorful owls in bright colors and placed them in urban settings, giving many of them feet, wheels, or skateboards to reflect his playful sense of humor. He created A Parliament of Owls, a collection of more than 80 original owl characters that appear frequently in his work.
He also sketched and drew them using color pencils on small pieces of paper, backs of lottery tickets, envelopes, advertisements and sheets of cardboard, whatever was available to quickly capture their diverse personalities.
As Ricardo Penalver's recognition grew, his owls where selected by The California Governor's Committee for Employment of Disabled Persons and the Governor's Youth with Disabilities Program.
The 2002 Pen's Pals Promotional Calendar, featuring his owls named after positive character traits, was distributed to business leaders statewide and promoted on CBS-KPIX-TV in San Francisco with Public Service Announcements.
Ricardo Penalver, a shared dream fulfilled Affordable Art for the World
Affordable Art Prints & Gifts
Founded in San Francisco in 1974, PenAlexa Studio began with Ricardo and Alexa’s shared dream of making expressive art more accessible and affordable.
Today, Alexa continues that mission through affordable reproductions including art prints and posters, along with greeting cards, notebooks, tote bags, mugs, and other art-inspired gifts.
Shop the collection at Ricardo’s Art 37 and find something for yourself, or a gift to share.