Preservation Projects
Beyond exhibitions, Jose has helped bring several larger preservation projects to life.
A Promise Kept
Billy Foster & Beny Dunfee
April 2024
A Promise Kept: The Friendship of Outlaw Artist Billy Foster and Benny Dunfee, a documentary project focused on the life, art, and legacy of West Virginia artist Billy Foster.
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Clyde Singer
Preserving the Legacy
October 2022
In October 2022, the Malvern Historical Society hosted a Clyde Singer open house in the artist’s hometown of Malvern, Ohio. Jose Rizo provided works from The Rizo Collection for the event
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Meyer Matzkin
Rediscovering an overlooked American painter
Rediscovering an overlooked American painter through collection, research, family collaboration, publication, and exhibition.
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Sharing the Collection Through Exhibitions
The Rizo Collection’s exhibitions are built around a simple purpose: making art more accessible to the communities of southern West Virginia and beyond.
Through gallery partnerships, pop-up shows, artist features, and curated selections from Jose L. Rizo’s personal collection, each exhibition offers a closer look at the artists, movements, and stories that shape the collection. From American Realism and Ashcan-inspired works to regional artists and contemporary voices, these shows reflect Jose’s ongoing commitment to preserving art and sharing it with the public.
The collection featured landscapes, coastal scenes, portraits, and everyday moments created by American painters who embraced the movement's emphasis on light, atmosphere, and natural beauty. Together, these works illustrated how Impressionist ideas evolved beyond France while maintaining the movement's defining appreciation for color, movement, and the changing qualities of light.
By sharing these works publicly, Jose continued The Rizo Collection's mission of preserving significant American art while making it accessible through educational exhibitions.