Opening Reception: February 20, 2013 6-8pm
Luis Garcia-Nerey’s powerful abstract paintings evoke an environment of passion, process, and philosophy. His paintings incorporate many layers of excavation, mark making, washes, and broad expanses of colors. The subtle narrative that is embedded in his work deals with the dynamics between Self and Other. Garcia-Nerey is interested in the concept that all things are countered by the existence of another, including the Self. Amidst this narrative he also intends his works to influence the viewer in many different directions, with no limits and little explanation. There is an elegant tension that pushes and pulls the surface with texture, line, and depth. The muted palette is at times visited by bright patches of color. In “Sea of Something”, a deep and transparent blue-green holds a stable pose on the left of the painting while a bright aqua hovers and seems to have the ability to move to the left, eventually reaching the grounded form. An expanse of chromatic grays simultaneously seems to be a path and a wall between the two. These charged areas of the painting work together to create a harmonious and satisfying composition.
Luis Garcia-Nerey teams up with artist Anke Schofield in their collaborative duo “Kollabs”. Their series of portraits combine antique photographs with charcoal pencil, acrylic and oil paint among other materials. Their multi-layered process creates these portraits in a dreamlike manner that emanate a silent dialogue. Their collaged mixed media paintings with images of early and mid 20th Century figures that sit amidst an activated, abstract ground instill memory, history and process to touch on the ethereal. Pattern, expressive line, expansive areas of color and space all flirt with the positioning of the figures. This creates a playful atmosphere that sets itself against the dramatics of process and pose.
Luis Garcia-Nerey lives and works in Miami, Florida and has been included in many regional and international exhibitions including Hunter Museum of American Art, The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, Caguas Museum of Art, and National Wildlife Art Museum. He has attended residencies at Banff Center, Bakehouse Art Complex and currently is a resident at the Art Center of South Florida.
Anke Schofield lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia and is an artist in residence at the Mattress Factory Art Complex. Her work has been exhibited widely and is in numerous corporate and private collections.