November 29, 2003 - January 3, 2004

Raffael A. Iglesias | ELXO | review

>opening Saturday, November 29 | 2 - 6pm

Che, m/m on canvas, 16" x 16", 2003

We all know the meaning of an image changes when it is taken out of its original context and placed in another. So, does anyone know what it means when shiny, yellow rubber duckies are swimming along beside the names of South ­American dictators? What do flaming hearts and white stars have to do with rocket ships, UFO's and the Virgin Mary? To Iglesias it all makes sense. His work is a candy-coated wonderland of tattoo art, shiny stickers Latin-American imagery. It is pop art with a little taste of El-Diablo.

The roots of Iglesias' work are embedded within the diverse combinations of his cultural backgrounds. He is inspired by his heritage as well as contemporary polemical and urban art. Iglesias draws upon these influences in dealing with, and manipulating ironic paradigms within the context of sociopolitical and personal issues.

The body of work explored in ELXO (pronounced el-show) is intended to challenge our concept of ideal landscapes in both life and art. Iglesias' "cultural landscapes" throw the gauntlet at the romanticism of "ghetto culture" in Hip-Hop, as well as its infiltration into mainstream, middle-class society, by juxtaposing street art with the traditional landscape. In his view, street art is a continuum of a living landscape, something that breaths, multiplies, and evolves.

Iglesias re-creates and re-arranges recognizable, as well as, de-constructed images, and icons, so that they appear to be abstract scenic paintings at a glance. He borrows, or, in Hip-Hop terms, he samples from a library of images and reconstructs them. Through his use of materials, Iglesias hybridizes the elements and aesthetics of automobile art, tattoo art and Latin- American poster art, as well as animation. He does this intentionally to give the viewer a recognizable aesthetic. Much like an advertisement, his intent is to draw the viewer to the shiny package.

Iglesias remains playful with the imagery and the content of his work. No matter how you choose to define it, one thing is certain, his work has the Bling Bling. For those of you who donÿt know, Bling Bling is a Hip- Hop term for the material good things in life, i.e. diamonds and gold; living large and in charge, with a sense of grandeur. This work has it all, and it is all good baby.