Aesthetics of Time

The new show, "Self, Symbol & the Spirit," features photography, mixed-media works, and paintings by Sergio Garcia, Evelyn Valdirio, Nicolas Leiva, Mariano Costa Peuser, and a woman who goes by the odd moniker Lili(ana) as if considering herself a household name. Garcia's large canvas Bed-Man is a self-portrait of the...

By Carlos Suarez De Jesus

March 18, 2010

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The new show, "Self, Symbol & the Spirit," features photography, mixed-media works, and paintings by Sergio Garcia, Evelyn Valdirio, Nicolas Leiva, Mariano Costa Peuser, and a woman who goes by the odd moniker Lili(ana) as if considering herself a household name. Garcia's large canvas Bed-Man is a self-portrait of the artist paralyzed on a cot under a menacing cloud of dark gray pencil-scribbled dashes, loops, and slashes, suggesting the psychic carnage battering his brain. Garcia is unafraid to lay himself bare. In the background floats a disembodied hand pierced by a dagger and dripping blood in a pan. Above it, a fanged demon snarls at the crudely rendered figure of the artist as if ready to gorge itself on his tortured soul. Garcia's raw, unself-conscious imagery exudes a toxic, gritty street vibe that reflects a U-turn from the gallery's previous offerings. Likewise, Leiva's sprawling, garage-door-sized opus, Oscuro y Verde Ajeno, is a nightmarish version of Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Smokestacks belch noxious fumes, blue glitter clouds float across the haunting twilight surfaces, and three gorgeously executed ceramic figures of bat-like creatures appear ready to guide the spectator to the depths of the netherworld.
Mondays-Fridays. Starts: March 25. Continues through April 30, 2010

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