|
|
| |
|
April 28-June 23, 2001
Santa Monica-Track 16 Gallery is pleased to announce an exciting new
exhibition of paintings and works on paper curated by artist Manuel
Ocampo and featuring work by Ocampo and three of Spain's most dynamic
contemporary artists: Patricio Cabrera, Chema Cobo, and Curro Gonzalez.
The exhibition runs from April 28-June 23, 2001, with an opening
reception on Saturday, April 28th, from 6-8 p.m.
"If I were to be truthful," Manuel Ocampo writes in the introduction to
Les Chiens Andalous, "the title of this show would be 'Three Andalusians
and a Dog Eater.' But because I'm not interested in the truth, let's just
pretend that I am also from Andalusia. After all, I did live there for
three-and-a-half years." Of the many brilliant artists that the
Philippine-born Ocampo met during his sojourn in Seville, the three he
has included in this exhibition-Cabrera, Cobo, and Gonzalez-inspired his
deepest admiration. In bringing them together, he does not intend to make
any sweeping statements about the state of contemporary Spanish art. The
exhibition is rather a labor of love‹a gesture of respect. As he writes:
"All three painters have established careers in their native country, so
I am by no means trying to organize a show featuring a new trend in
Spanish art or a survey of Andalusian artists. I have noticed, however,
that only a very small number of Spanish artists are widely known in the
U.S. and internationally. This exhibition is my attempt to broaden an
appreciation of Spanish painters, with a focus on the province I love
most."
Manuel Ocampo, who currently resides in northern California, is one of
the most important artists to have emerged on the contemporary art scene
in America in the last decade-both a rising star and a force to be
reckoned with. Combining a masterful degree of formal skill with scathing
social critique, his paintings are provocative and often disturbing
portraits of our troubled age.
The large, dream-like paintings of Patricio Cabrera are rich labyrinths
of symbol and narrative. Increasingly concerned with issues of ornament
and decorative pattern, Cabrera's new works read like maps of human
consciousness.
Thick with paradox and sarcasm, the politically astute work of Chema Cobo
explores the darker reaches of humor, which Cobo calls "the inversion of
the obvious," a force that "does not seek the spectators' complicity, but
instead seeks to leave them with a sense of uprootedness." His newest
body of work deals loosely with issues of power and colonialism
surrounding the French Revolution.
Drawing from the traditions of Goya, Dali, and surrealist filmmaker Luis
Bunuel, Curro Gonzalez makes figural paintings that are dense with
allegory and historical allusion. His recent work explores his
relationship to identity, his surroundings, his country and his culture.
"Les Chiens Andalous" combines four outstanding artists whose visions are
fortified with historical and political awareness, yet tinged with what
Ocampo calls "Spanish surrealism's twisted logic." Citing the Luis Bunuel
film from which the exhibition takes its name, he points out: "What the
movie is notorious for is the scene depicting what some consider the most
violent act committed against the eye in film history. I hope the works
included in this show attack the visual senses in a similarly positive
and liberating way."
Accompanying the exhibition is a catalogue published by Smart Art Press
titled Les Chiens Andalous, which features full color reproductions,
biographies, and interviews with each of the four artists, conducted by
Kevin Power.
Bottom Image:
CURATOR'S STATEMENT |
