Inauguration at Artefacto

Last Saturday evening, the 4th of September, I celebrated the opening of my current exhibit at Artefacto Gallery in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. We will host a second reception on September 16th, as it falls on a special night for the arts here in Palma, La Nit D'Art. Every year many galleries open on the same evening so that enthusiasts can meander through the city, mingle and see the exhibits spread throughout the diverse galleries in Palma. I'm very pleased to be part of it...even though I won't be able to actually sneak out and see the other shows myself!

Here are a few images of the inauguration.


Artefacto director, Inmaculada Vara Guttierrez, gave me an introduction before opening the lovely teak doors to reveal the show.




The on-lookers include Mallorcan painter Toni-Mari Escarrer, second from the right.



Miranda Giles, painter, has recently arrived to Mallorca. Expect to see her exhibiting soon as well.

Urban Archeology - Arqueología Urbana

Shortly after moving to Mallorca I began to document the abundant activity in the construction and destruction of properties on the island. I still observe the antique mixing with the modern, sometimes harmoniously, sometimes in conflict.

What piques my curiosity most are the façades left behind after the demolition of a neighboring building. For a few short months, one can see the imprint left on the walls of lives once lived. It is a cross-section of changing generations of ownership.
By capturing these views before they are covered for another span of time, I attempt to depict contemporary artifacts obscured by civilization and progress. I mimic this process in my works by using discarded construction materials and painting over my own paintings.

What you are reading is the written portion of a proposal I just sent out for a juried show in Palma. I have been preparing for the opportunity for 6 months. And although the competition is certainly not a punctuation mark, I feel that I have already won- deadlines are great motivators!

Arqueología Urbana

Poco después de venir a vivir a Mallorca empecé a documentar la abundante actividad en la construcción y destrucción dentro de la isla. Aún observo lo antiguo mezclándose con lo moderno, a veces armoniosamente, otras en conflicto.

Lo que pica mi curiosidad es que la mayoria de las fachadas dejaron trás de sí la demolición del edificio colindante. Durante unos pocos meses, uno puede ver la imprenta dejada en las paredes de los que una vez vivieron allí. Es una muestra representativa de los cambios generacionales de la propiedad. Al capturar estas vistas antes de que sean recubiertas por otro lapso del tiempo, intento plasmar los artefactos contemporáneos obscurecidos por la civilización y el progreso. Imito este proceso en mis obras usando materiales descartados por la construcción y cubriendo antiguas obras mías.

Un-Graffiti

Look at the interesting result when graffiti is painted and patched over at the elementary school! These are the types of images I shoot almost daily in my own brand of Mallorca's urban archeology.

Luis' Billboard Textures

Aren't these wonderful? My friend Luis went on a texture hunt around Brooklyn and sent me tons of great images. This small selection shows the layered evidence of years of billboards pasted on top of one another and torn down - it appears that they may have been sanded-down as well. YUMilicious!