Omar Rodriguez-Graham Horses- 02.10.11
The sun set on us as we wandered into Plaza Rio de Janeiro in the La Roma area of Mexico City… and as we looked away from the grandiose replica of David in the park, suddenly these stunning nearly life sized oil paintings of horses were staring at us through the glow of Arróniz Arte Contemporáneo. Turns out it is the work of Mexican painter Omar Rodriguez-Graham - most breathtaking in the solo show “Variaciones Sobre un Tema” which opened yesterday, are these two HUGE oil on cotton canvas pieces he did in 2009. They measure 300cm x 250cm (10’x8’). The woman in the gallery was telling us about how his work used to be far more grotesque and somber, and in 2009 he started these horse paintings… you can see more in his portfolio. Most fascinating really is how real they look from afar, and how abstract they seem close up… see my favorites on the next page!
The first main image is Shadows Become Shades Grey
This one is And White Becomes Absolute
Here is a newer one from 2011 - Muddy Waters
And a colorful untitled piece from 2010.
Here’s a closer look at the wide strokes used on “And white becomes absolute”
From Arróniz Arte Contemporáneo: omar rodriguez-graham - arróniz arte contemporáneo presenta a partir del 9 de febrero hasta el 18 de marzo del 2011 la exposición individual de omar rodríguez-graham: “variaciones sobre un tema” a la par de “regreso al presente” de erick meyenberg la exposición de nuestra sala principal incluye una serie de caballos al oléo sobre tela, realizados a finales del 2010 y principios del 2011 donde el artista presenta una pintura renovada, que se desprende de las anteriores, donde realizaba imágenes de cuerpos violentados. las figuras de los caballos son vehículos secuenciados en una línea de armado pictórico: máquinas latentes que sugieren corporeidades que podrían ponerse en marcha y, en este caso, dar vida y no muerte a relatos y a narrativas que no están, por cierto, en el centro de la relevancia discursiva que los genera.
This is a bit reminiscent of Euan Uglow. If he’d painted horses.
----- Emily 12.02.11 23:30