REPRESENTATIONS

OPENING:
Saturday, January 21, 2017, 6 pm

EXHIBITION DATA:
January 21 to February 10, 2017
 

The word representation has been used extensively in the study of linguistics and art. In painting, where the word has been greatly linked with visual symbolism, the term representation has been defined as the recording of sensory information about a specific object through a particular medium.

Painting, as one of the oldest forms of expression, continues to be salient in contemporary times. Humans yearn for new forms, and visual art has always been an avenue for presenting new accessible content. The title of the exhibition asserts that the activity of painting parallels the domain of the naturalness of us being self-aware beings. In defining the art of painting and the preconditions in displaying it, both viewer and artist interpret dimensions of what can be seen and felt by materializing new content to the senses. People who look at paintings commonly inquire about the motivations and reasons of the artist regarding the conception of the work. In the process of viewing any object, it is natural to ascribe to the work one’s recollection of his/her memory and/or experiences. This puts the perception of any creative work within the privacy of any viewer’s personal space. Recognizing elements within a plane of a painting or placing recognizable recollections of images of arbitrary objects or moods are forms of participation that support our longing for new visual experience.

In this exhibition, the works present a stylistic range that can enable the viewer to maintain flexible attitudes in perception. Olazo’s forceful elemental abstraction is at the end of the spectrum, Rubio’s textured figuration plays within the borders of shape and portraits, while at the other end of the range stands Abrugena’s imagery that provides gestural play of color and strokes. It is worth noting that all the titles of the works have a clear sense of what is perhaps "signified" or "not signified" by the choice of words commonly used in spoken and written language. This introduces a form of discussion that situates painting in a very traditional arena, as well as in a complicated room of the study of signs.

However, there is no contemporary painting. Amidst the current pulse of conceptual art-making, painting has retained its primal quality. The said art form still possesses an innocent intensity that can be considered a fundamental aspect of any creative undertaking with very limited tools. This inherent immediacy is an important consideration in acknowledging the diversity of techniques and approaches provided by and available to artists today.

The exhibition would like to address the prehensive quality of visual experience. The works confront simply the viewer's need to see, and perhaps discover new images for themselves. It is a re-evaluation of the way we can leave painting in its reclusive spot in contemporary art, by stripping it of metaphysical interpretations and honoring our innate power to see what we can imagine.