Alicia Paz MX, 1967
A Spiritual Visitation, 2020
mixed media on canvas
210 x 170 cm
Copyright The Artist
These paintings present large trees, rich in symbolism and formally dense and varied. The structure of a tree, (the trunk branching out in many directions) allows for an exploration of...
These paintings present large trees, rich in symbolism and formally dense and varied. The structure of a tree, (the trunk branching out in many directions) allows for an exploration of different approaches to mark-making, anywhere from the photo-realist treatment of tree bark to cartoon-like blobs and foliage, to straight collage of cut-outs from gardening magazines, as well as spray-painted pochoirs of real leaves and twigs.
In antropomorphous fashion, these trees talk and sing. Their oracular quality stems from a chattering, tree-dwelling community of parrots, neurotic women, mysterious green men, butterflies, and an assortment of ghosts. Ambiguous narratives and tongue-in cheek fairy-tales play hide-and–seek among the branches. These are trees of life, drunken genealogical conundrums. Cycles of death and re-birth are evoked with humour and grace. There is a fluid, orchestrated alternation between what is real and artificial, between an object and its representations.
In antropomorphous fashion, these trees talk and sing. Their oracular quality stems from a chattering, tree-dwelling community of parrots, neurotic women, mysterious green men, butterflies, and an assortment of ghosts. Ambiguous narratives and tongue-in cheek fairy-tales play hide-and–seek among the branches. These are trees of life, drunken genealogical conundrums. Cycles of death and re-birth are evoked with humour and grace. There is a fluid, orchestrated alternation between what is real and artificial, between an object and its representations.