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THE MONITOR
Common Individuality, IMAS Exhibit
Melds the Abstract with Visceral
Monday,
June 11, 2012
Section D, Valley Life
What: “Systematic Drawings,” by Jesus de la Rosa
Where: IMAS Satellite Space, Arts District Center (ADBC), 813 N. Main Street
When: through September.9am-12pm, 3-5pm weekdays.
Jesus de la Rosa’s Systematic Drawings returns to McAllen bringing some new images along with a few of the earlier ones. This is an ongoing project De la Rosa has pursued since 2005. IMAS Satellite Space at ADBC presents over one hundred of these remarkable drawings, effectively covering the irregular wall exhibition space. In this space context they wrap around curved walls and jut out over architectural surfaces. Nothing gets in the way of these drawings. To produce Systematic Drawings, De la Rosa masterfully combines the processes of mono-printing and action painting into a drawing idiom. He dry-brushes a sheet of paper with powdered charcoal, and then swats the paper surface with a cloth; sometimes several times building the complexity of the image. Each drawing in the exhibit was created this way. And although each drawing is unique, they all carry specific characteristics from the others due to the “system.” This method creates a strong visual unity from drawing to drawing. “The common denominator was that each one is individual, but they are common,” explained De la Rosa. “That’s the philosophy behind the concept. The last batch was done in February. The goal is one thousand drawings and then stop. Or maybe not.” De La Rosa’s swat system produces incredibly beautiful action images that belie the speed of their execution. Comprised of complex shapes and sophisticated tonal graduations, the images include integrated passages of fascinating complexity. The formal concept of creating abstract images that record the physical action of the artist was a style first popularized by the Abstract Expressionists in the 1950s. A natural desire with this kind of abstraction from the viewer’s standpoint is to look for something familiar. Some kind of reference. The childhood game of looking for images in cloud formations awakens the subconscious mind of the viewer when looking at these drawings. Pleasant childhood pastimes are revisited unawares. A viewer may project familiar images into the drawings and then derive the pleasure of sudden recognition, creating a contemplative interaction with an image. “This is something the first generation of Abstract Expressionists tried to avoid like the plague,” commented Joseph Bravo, Director of IMAS. De la Rosa seems to embrace the concept, which brings the drawings into the contemporary art arena. De La Rosa said that this body of work was inspired as a reaction to our culture’s existent hunger for complex aesthetics and instant gratification. He wanted to find a method to make a unique drawing that was aesthetically intricate, but actually could be generated in a short time period. He has certainly succeeded with his Systematic Drawings series. All the drawings are informally tacked to the wall, one against the other. Take some time to look carefully at these unique abstract images. You will definitely find beauty there and who knows what else? Nancy Moyer, Professor Emerita of Art from UTPA, is an art critic for The Monitor. She may be reached at nmoyer@rgv.rr.com
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CORPUS CHRISTI CALLER-TIMES
Exhibit at K Space inspires dialogue manner in which art is displayed is part of art itself
May 22, 2008
By Elizabeth Reese PhD
If art exhibitions can be considered visual dialogues, then a terrific conversation is happening downtown at K Space Contemporary." Piece by Piece: Drawings by Jesus de la Rosa and Paintings by Paul Valadez" presents the work of two artists who use images to discuss personal experiences with gratification, time, identity, history and culture. Moreover, the clever presentation calls viewers not only to engage with the exchange on the walls, but also to explore the connective conversations within. Each artist plasters at least one large wall, almost floor to ceiling, side by side, piece by piece, with his works of art. The effect is stunning. Covering the gallery walls on the left are Valadez's text-based, sign-like paintings, while de la Rosa's enigmatic, mysterious drawings cover the right side. This method of presentation is considered a form of installation art where the manner in which the work is displayed is part of the work of art itself. The context in which art is experienced always affects the viewer's interpretation of the work. In "Piece by Piece," viewers can enjoy investigating the whole exhibition, one grouping of art at a time, and each work of art on its own. Delicate and demanding, de la Rosa's abstract drawings reveal a story beating the demands of the daily grind. With a work schedule that prohibits long artwork sessions, de la Rosa began to use the method seen here to create aesthetically intricate works.Though the drawings appear to be labor-intensive, de la Rosa said his process "is more accidental than automatic in nature. It also borrows heavily from print-making and the monoprint process specifically. Each piece is created in the span of one second by swatting a powdered charcoal brushed piece of canvas on the support." De la Rosa's drawings read like frames from a celestial song or dramatic ballet. Separately, the works of art suggest a mystifying, other-worldly presence. Powerful and subtle, Valadez's works use paint in layers and drips as well as words in Spanish and English to document his experiences with the comingling of cultures in America."The ideas of using classic Americana imagery with Spanish-language text reveal a deeper idea of the blend of cultures in the U.S. today," he said. These "old signage" works offer insight into Valadez's childhood in a bi-cultural (Mexican-American and Anglo) home in central California. The artist said his works also offer "social commentary on topical issues, current policies and garnished with a dash of satirical pun at life in the 21st century." To create these cropped and curious paintings, Valadez uses acrylic paint sometimes on papier mâché, recycled tin, wood, canvas and found materials. Indeed, examining the surface of the signs to examine the materials is part of the banter. Is that sawdust? Or hay? What makes it look so old and rusty? Both artists teach in McAllen at the University of Texas-Pan American.
IF YOU GO
What: “Piece by Piece: Drawings by Jesus de la Rosa and Paintings by Paul Valadez”
When: Through July 6;
Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesdays through Saturdays
Where: K Space Contemporary 415 D. Starr St.
Cost: Free Information: 361-887-6834 or www.kspacecontemporary.org
Elizabeth B. Reese, PhD, is an art and museum consultant and former visiting professor and director of university galleries at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Contact her at elizreese@gmail.com
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Section D, Valley Life
What: “Systematic Drawings,” by Jesus de la Rosa
Where: IMAS Satellite Space, Arts District Center (ADBC), 813 N. Main Street
When: through September.9am-12pm, 3-5pm weekdays.
Jesus de la Rosa’s Systematic Drawings returns to McAllen bringing some new images along with a few of the earlier ones. This is an ongoing project De la Rosa has pursued since 2005. IMAS Satellite Space at ADBC presents over one hundred of these remarkable drawings, effectively covering the irregular wall exhibition space. In this space context they wrap around curved walls and jut out over architectural surfaces. Nothing gets in the way of these drawings. To produce Systematic Drawings, De la Rosa masterfully combines the processes of mono-printing and action painting into a drawing idiom. He dry-brushes a sheet of paper with powdered charcoal, and then swats the paper surface with a cloth; sometimes several times building the complexity of the image. Each drawing in the exhibit was created this way. And although each drawing is unique, they all carry specific characteristics from the others due to the “system.” This method creates a strong visual unity from drawing to drawing. “The common denominator was that each one is individual, but they are common,” explained De la Rosa. “That’s the philosophy behind the concept. The last batch was done in February. The goal is one thousand drawings and then stop. Or maybe not.” De La Rosa’s swat system produces incredibly beautiful action images that belie the speed of their execution. Comprised of complex shapes and sophisticated tonal graduations, the images include integrated passages of fascinating complexity. The formal concept of creating abstract images that record the physical action of the artist was a style first popularized by the Abstract Expressionists in the 1950s. A natural desire with this kind of abstraction from the viewer’s standpoint is to look for something familiar. Some kind of reference. The childhood game of looking for images in cloud formations awakens the subconscious mind of the viewer when looking at these drawings. Pleasant childhood pastimes are revisited unawares. A viewer may project familiar images into the drawings and then derive the pleasure of sudden recognition, creating a contemplative interaction with an image. “This is something the first generation of Abstract Expressionists tried to avoid like the plague,” commented Joseph Bravo, Director of IMAS. De la Rosa seems to embrace the concept, which brings the drawings into the contemporary art arena. De La Rosa said that this body of work was inspired as a reaction to our culture’s existent hunger for complex aesthetics and instant gratification. He wanted to find a method to make a unique drawing that was aesthetically intricate, but actually could be generated in a short time period. He has certainly succeeded with his Systematic Drawings series. All the drawings are informally tacked to the wall, one against the other. Take some time to look carefully at these unique abstract images. You will definitely find beauty there and who knows what else? Nancy Moyer, Professor Emerita of Art from UTPA, is an art critic for The Monitor. She may be reached at nmoyer@rgv.rr.com
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
CORPUS CHRISTI CALLER-TIMES
Exhibit at K Space inspires dialogue manner in which art is displayed is part of art itself
May 22, 2008
By Elizabeth Reese PhD
If art exhibitions can be considered visual dialogues, then a terrific conversation is happening downtown at K Space Contemporary." Piece by Piece: Drawings by Jesus de la Rosa and Paintings by Paul Valadez" presents the work of two artists who use images to discuss personal experiences with gratification, time, identity, history and culture. Moreover, the clever presentation calls viewers not only to engage with the exchange on the walls, but also to explore the connective conversations within. Each artist plasters at least one large wall, almost floor to ceiling, side by side, piece by piece, with his works of art. The effect is stunning. Covering the gallery walls on the left are Valadez's text-based, sign-like paintings, while de la Rosa's enigmatic, mysterious drawings cover the right side. This method of presentation is considered a form of installation art where the manner in which the work is displayed is part of the work of art itself. The context in which art is experienced always affects the viewer's interpretation of the work. In "Piece by Piece," viewers can enjoy investigating the whole exhibition, one grouping of art at a time, and each work of art on its own. Delicate and demanding, de la Rosa's abstract drawings reveal a story beating the demands of the daily grind. With a work schedule that prohibits long artwork sessions, de la Rosa began to use the method seen here to create aesthetically intricate works.Though the drawings appear to be labor-intensive, de la Rosa said his process "is more accidental than automatic in nature. It also borrows heavily from print-making and the monoprint process specifically. Each piece is created in the span of one second by swatting a powdered charcoal brushed piece of canvas on the support." De la Rosa's drawings read like frames from a celestial song or dramatic ballet. Separately, the works of art suggest a mystifying, other-worldly presence. Powerful and subtle, Valadez's works use paint in layers and drips as well as words in Spanish and English to document his experiences with the comingling of cultures in America."The ideas of using classic Americana imagery with Spanish-language text reveal a deeper idea of the blend of cultures in the U.S. today," he said. These "old signage" works offer insight into Valadez's childhood in a bi-cultural (Mexican-American and Anglo) home in central California. The artist said his works also offer "social commentary on topical issues, current policies and garnished with a dash of satirical pun at life in the 21st century." To create these cropped and curious paintings, Valadez uses acrylic paint sometimes on papier mâché, recycled tin, wood, canvas and found materials. Indeed, examining the surface of the signs to examine the materials is part of the banter. Is that sawdust? Or hay? What makes it look so old and rusty? Both artists teach in McAllen at the University of Texas-Pan American.
IF YOU GO
What: “Piece by Piece: Drawings by Jesus de la Rosa and Paintings by Paul Valadez”
When: Through July 6;
Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesdays through Saturdays
Where: K Space Contemporary 415 D. Starr St.
Cost: Free Information: 361-887-6834 or www.kspacecontemporary.org
Elizabeth B. Reese, PhD, is an art and museum consultant and former visiting professor and director of university galleries at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Contact her at elizreese@gmail.com
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THE MONITOR
Dark Marks
March 28, 2008, Festiva, pg 27F
by Nancy Moyer PhD
One-hundred and twenty new charcoal drawings by Jesus de la Rosa literally cover the walls of the STC Library Art Gallery downstairs. His new exhibit Systematic Drawings, presents a new drawing technique that De La Rosa feels is right for our time.The drawings are untitled abstract images. Even so, each drawing seems to suggest a biological structure. There is a temptation to imagine x-rays of unknown creatures being seen through a special device. Or, sometimes, deep-sea creatures that have become transparent from lack of sunlight are captured on the paper surface.“This collection was in spired as a reaction to our culture’s existent hunger for complex aesthetics and instant gratification,” said De La Rosa. “My goal was to find a method to make a unique drawing that was aesthetically intricate and seemed to be created by long, laborious and tedious hours, but took a fraction of the time to generate and that also defied a factory made appearance.” Quite a daunting goal, but De La Rosa masterfully combined the processes of monoprinting and action painting. He dry brushes a piece of canvas with powdered charcoal, and then swats the paper surface with it. Each drawing in the exhibit was created this way. Although each drawing is unique, they all carry specific characteristics from the others due to the “system.” As a result, there is a strong visual unity from drawing to drawing. De La Rosa’s swat system produces incredibly beautiful images that belie the speed of their execution. Comprised of complex shapes and sophisticated tonal graduations, the images include integrated passages of great complexity. The drawings appear to be much more than the simple “swats” that he describes. “When I try to organize the canvas a certain way, it never works,” explained De La Rosa. “The result actually depends on the speed and the amount of charcoal. And that’s what produced the image. And, of course, the placement. If the image is swatted twice or three times, I find that when it’s just once or twice it works really well. If I go beyond that, I cross that point where it’s not good anymore.” Many of the drawings display a record of the loose strands of canvas as they collided with the surface of the paper. Several images also demonstrate an extended soft edge that moves out from the primary image. This could be described as a halo effect that occurred as the charcoal exploded across the paper from the impact of the canvas swat.”De La Rosa’s process represents an impacting signage that is very dynamic and active and relies a lot on happenstance and chance,” said David Freeman, STC’s Library Art Gallery Curator and Programs Coordinator. “The artist’s touch comes more from the process of the created and found mark-making than the traditional act of drawing one usually finds on a gallery wall. It Synthesizes, in a tomfoolery kind of way, the differences between traditional and progressive conceptual performance drawing.” De La Rosa’s drawings are amazing because such a successful illusion of detail has occurred with his systematic process. There appears to have been labored traditional drawing taking place. But it was a swat – an abstract record of a violent physical action. Nor does De La Rosa go back and rework the image with erasures and dark accents. The images represent the pure record of his process: a process that is at once delicate and violent, much like our own existence. Nancy Moyer, PhD, in an art reviewer for the monitor. She is an independent artist living in McAllen and may be reached at nmoyer@rgv.rr.com
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VOICES OF ART MAGAZINE
Dark Marks
March 28, 2008, Festiva, pg 27F
by Nancy Moyer PhD
One-hundred and twenty new charcoal drawings by Jesus de la Rosa literally cover the walls of the STC Library Art Gallery downstairs. His new exhibit Systematic Drawings, presents a new drawing technique that De La Rosa feels is right for our time.The drawings are untitled abstract images. Even so, each drawing seems to suggest a biological structure. There is a temptation to imagine x-rays of unknown creatures being seen through a special device. Or, sometimes, deep-sea creatures that have become transparent from lack of sunlight are captured on the paper surface.“This collection was in spired as a reaction to our culture’s existent hunger for complex aesthetics and instant gratification,” said De La Rosa. “My goal was to find a method to make a unique drawing that was aesthetically intricate and seemed to be created by long, laborious and tedious hours, but took a fraction of the time to generate and that also defied a factory made appearance.” Quite a daunting goal, but De La Rosa masterfully combined the processes of monoprinting and action painting. He dry brushes a piece of canvas with powdered charcoal, and then swats the paper surface with it. Each drawing in the exhibit was created this way. Although each drawing is unique, they all carry specific characteristics from the others due to the “system.” As a result, there is a strong visual unity from drawing to drawing. De La Rosa’s swat system produces incredibly beautiful images that belie the speed of their execution. Comprised of complex shapes and sophisticated tonal graduations, the images include integrated passages of great complexity. The drawings appear to be much more than the simple “swats” that he describes. “When I try to organize the canvas a certain way, it never works,” explained De La Rosa. “The result actually depends on the speed and the amount of charcoal. And that’s what produced the image. And, of course, the placement. If the image is swatted twice or three times, I find that when it’s just once or twice it works really well. If I go beyond that, I cross that point where it’s not good anymore.” Many of the drawings display a record of the loose strands of canvas as they collided with the surface of the paper. Several images also demonstrate an extended soft edge that moves out from the primary image. This could be described as a halo effect that occurred as the charcoal exploded across the paper from the impact of the canvas swat.”De La Rosa’s process represents an impacting signage that is very dynamic and active and relies a lot on happenstance and chance,” said David Freeman, STC’s Library Art Gallery Curator and Programs Coordinator. “The artist’s touch comes more from the process of the created and found mark-making than the traditional act of drawing one usually finds on a gallery wall. It Synthesizes, in a tomfoolery kind of way, the differences between traditional and progressive conceptual performance drawing.” De La Rosa’s drawings are amazing because such a successful illusion of detail has occurred with his systematic process. There appears to have been labored traditional drawing taking place. But it was a swat – an abstract record of a violent physical action. Nor does De La Rosa go back and rework the image with erasures and dark accents. The images represent the pure record of his process: a process that is at once delicate and violent, much like our own existence. Nancy Moyer, PhD, in an art reviewer for the monitor. She is an independent artist living in McAllen and may be reached at nmoyer@rgv.rr.com
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VOICES OF ART MAGAZINE
