Luis Gonzales Palma
Review of exhibition at Light Contemporary Art Gallery in London.
2nd of August to 4th of September 2007
Light Contemporary Art Gallery in London was showing work by Luis Gonzales Palma from the 2nd of August to 4th of September 2007. Although the works in exhibition were not new to us, we have seen them at Venice Biennale in 2005; they are extremely interesting and were at that Biennale some of the best pieces presented by a Latin American Pavilion.
Luis Gonzales Palma is considered one of the most important photographers in Latin America and his work is widely respected and revered in that continent and throughout the world. At Light Contemporary we could see some pieces from his “The Mind’s Light”, what Graciela de Oliveira from the Italo Latinoamericano Institute, described as “(…) a personal re-interpretation of Catholic iconography”.
In this series the artist re-visits some of his childhood memories as a boy brought up in a very catholic environment, he re-presents and re-translates some of the rituals and iconographic images that marked him during that period, such as the loincloth covering Christ’s genitals.
The Technique used in these works heightens the solemn mood. The images, printed on ortho clear film, are laid over a deep red board covered with sheets of gold leaf, the whole encased in resin. Each crack and seam in the gold allows the rich colour to show through; the materials become integral components of the piece, adding depth to the works without obscuring the photographic image. The crinkles in the gold leaf highlight the delicate texture of lace, the mottled surface of a pine plank table, or the peeling walls.
The resin adds a slightly murky sepia tone that gives the work an antique look.
The exhibition was inaugurated and received the patronage of the Guatemalan Ambassador, Edmundo Urrutia.
Sidonio Costa
London, September 2007
Review of exhibition at Light Contemporary Art Gallery in London.
2nd of August to 4th of September 2007
Light Contemporary Art Gallery in London was showing work by Luis Gonzales Palma from the 2nd of August to 4th of September 2007. Although the works in exhibition were not new to us, we have seen them at Venice Biennale in 2005; they are extremely interesting and were at that Biennale some of the best pieces presented by a Latin American Pavilion.
Luis Gonzales Palma is considered one of the most important photographers in Latin America and his work is widely respected and revered in that continent and throughout the world. At Light Contemporary we could see some pieces from his “The Mind’s Light”, what Graciela de Oliveira from the Italo Latinoamericano Institute, described as “(…) a personal re-interpretation of Catholic iconography”.
In this series the artist re-visits some of his childhood memories as a boy brought up in a very catholic environment, he re-presents and re-translates some of the rituals and iconographic images that marked him during that period, such as the loincloth covering Christ’s genitals.
The Technique used in these works heightens the solemn mood. The images, printed on ortho clear film, are laid over a deep red board covered with sheets of gold leaf, the whole encased in resin. Each crack and seam in the gold allows the rich colour to show through; the materials become integral components of the piece, adding depth to the works without obscuring the photographic image. The crinkles in the gold leaf highlight the delicate texture of lace, the mottled surface of a pine plank table, or the peeling walls.
The resin adds a slightly murky sepia tone that gives the work an antique look.
The exhibition was inaugurated and received the patronage of the Guatemalan Ambassador, Edmundo Urrutia.
Sidonio Costa
London, September 2007
No comments:
Post a Comment