F5 m/m, 48” x 196” 2005 (fragment)
(triptych)
m/m, 24” x 38” 2005
Corona’s Revenge m / m 18”x72” 2005 (triptych)
El Indio m/m 48” x 72” 2005
My Corona m/m 36” x 48” 2005
Sstadies (a,b,c,d) m/m 10” x 12” 2005
Los Blue Poles m/m 48” x 72” 2005
|
New Work | Raffael A. Iglesias has recently begun to reinterpret canonical
works of art so as to challenge the ideals of the artist, of history/landscape
painting and the trappings of Romanticism and Exoticism associated with
such traditions. Identified as “cultural landscapes,” these
paintings cull from and cast anew all aspects of the artist’s
surrounds and heritage. These works are the result of an inevitable
merging between the internal lived experience of the artist and his
relationships to other within the urban environment. Iglesias explains:
I am presently working on a series of paintings that challenge the ideal
of the landscape and landscape artist. Under the contextual umbrella
of cultural landscapes, I fuse elements of street art and contemporary
notions of landscape painting. I question, simultaneously, the romanticism
of “Ghetto Culture” in Hip Hop and its infiltration of the
mainstream boulevards of middle class society. My objective is to turn
this paradigm in upon itself by juxtaposing imagery of street and landscape
art. By deconstructing images I have photographed of urban scenery,
I rearrange them to appear as abstracted scenic paintings. I view street
art as a continuum of a living landscape; thus, I translate the graffiti
aesthetic, originally from the street, into my work in the studio. By
using shiny glossy materials, I hybridize elements and aesthetics of
low-rider car art and Latin American poster art. I do this intentionally
to give the viewer a recognizable aesthetic - that of advertising, where
the intent is to draw the viewer near and in towards the shiny package.
I remain playful with the imagery and the content. The work has the
appearance of “Bling Bling” on the outside, a hip hop term
for the material, good things of life, and the ability to live large
and in charge with a sense of grandeur.
Biography
Raffael A. Iglesias lives and works in Toronto, Canada. His mixed media
paintings have been exhibited in solo and group shows, including: Elxo,
Peak Gallery, Toronto (2004); ALUNCINARTE, in conjunction with the Latin
American art festival, gallery 1313, Toronto (2003); Books on the Fence,
A Collaboration with Photographer Greg Staats, Epicentro Gallery, Mexico
City (2003); Incuentro, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo Art, Santiago Chile
(2001); Che, Zsa Zsa Gallery, Toronto (2002); Glyphs, Gallery 401, Toronto
(2001); and Last Century Modern, An Exhibition of Toronto Emerging Artists,
Spin Gallery Toronto (2000). His art has received critical acclaim in
publications such as LOLA and Fuse Magazines and in a short film aired
on BRAVO! Video Fact. Iglesias has been awarded several grants from
the Toronto, Ontario and Canada Arts Councils, most notably, the Emerging
Artist Grant (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003).
|
