The painting in the background are idealized bucolic European landscapes in which one still perceives certain elements typical of the Rococo, such as the gilt asymmetrical scrollwork on the rocaille frame. The bridge and the river may be elements that allude to the distance between the old world and the new. The bull, between the two girls may represent the god Zeus, who in the greek mythology assumed this form to seduce the beautiful young maiden Europa
The pineapple and maraca are two elements native to the Caribbean culture that Campeche introduces into this painting in the European courtly style as a manifestation of the cultural syncretism that characterizes the colonies of the New Worlds.
Both girls are dressed in the Empire style, which not only dominated women’s fashions but was reflected also in the architecture, interior decoration, and furniture of the early nineteenth century in France. This is a style that fits well with the austere spirit of neo-Classicism.
According to Rene Taylor, and based on the Languages of Flowers, by Margaret Pickston, the little spray of white and yellow jasmine flowers that the two sisters are holding is a symbol of affability and grace, while the roses may allude to love.
NOTE: All the information was provided at the MAPR, and is strictly property of the MAPR.
Puerto Rican abstract expressionist painter Olga Albizu experiments here with the use of collage to create the suggestion of a figurative image—in this case, a portrait. Albizu’s “Untitled (Portrait of Adele),” though distinctly different in its medium and monochromatic character, bears an intriguingly strong resemblance to Albizu’s abstract paintings, colorful patchworks that make use of large, textured swaths of color to create eye-popping, animated geometric compositions. Here, torn strips of paper come together to form the distinct image of a woman’s face and hair, with the suggestion of her jawline and upper body below
A rising star in the contemporary art world, Angel Otero with 34 years of age and a 6 figures ($ 150,000) on a single piece gallery sale plus Kavi Gupta Gallery, Lehmann Maupin Gallery, Dozens of recorded sales at Christie’s Auction House and Sotheby’s Auction House behind his back. You can surely conclude that he is becoming a premium artist with such a young age, with his popularity steadily increasing over the last few years.
Is never and easy task to break the ice in the states as an artist, plus at the same time win a scholarship of $125,000 for your career, but once you start to study Angel Otero ‘s young career in comparison with his dear friend and artist Arnaldo Roche, you can start to understand that it took Roche almost 25 years into his career to achieve $200,000 at auction, mean while Otero with only 6 years into his career as an international artist was able to reach the $150,000 mark in 2015. This is a key point for any collector that starts thinking outside the box, and overviews what will happen in the next 10 years, from a standard investment point of view.
Let us be clear that an artist’s talent, quality, and originality is never measured by some past numbers at auction, especially in the case of Roche which can be considered a genius in his field, but nevertheless is a very important factor when evaluating any artist ranking since this is a well-known factor to measure the acceptance of any artist work in the primary and secondary markets.
Today the work of Angel Otero has reached higher prices than the legendary Olga Albizu strictly based on auction prices, while art.org writes that his work has surpassed more than $100,000 dollars on a single oil painting bought by the Istanbul Modern museum in 2015 at an art basel.
Angel Otero describes his process-based approach to painting, like creating “oil skins”. Which are made from paint poured onto plexiglass and peeled off in dry sheets. Then they are transferred to the artist canvas to create assemblage works composed of additional materials such as oil paint, gold leaf, resin, spray paint and silicone. The resulting works are simultaneously collage that present a dynamic, fresh approach to contemporary painting.
B. 1981
BLURRED KISS
signed, titled and dated 2011 on the reverse
oil paint skins collage on canvas
160 by 183cm.; 63 by 72in. LOT SOLD. 27,500 GBP
Estimate
15,000 — 20,000
Any reader that is interested in acquiring an investment piece should always analyze many factors but the end point of all art investment should be this: Love the piece, enjoy the piece, and always get a painting that truly steals your breath away. From an investment point analyze the following; With 34 years of age, museums around the world are willing to pay more than $100,000 dollars for a single painting, what do you think is going to happen to Otero’s prices in the next 5 years? Having said this there are many great Puerto Rican artist to invest like Francisco Rodon, Enoc Perez, Rafy Trelles, Angel Botello, Arnaldo Roche Rabell, Myrna Baez, Olga Albizu plus many more, the choice is yours. Walter Otero Gallery WOCA is one of the top 500 galleries in the world that can help you on your quest and Auction Houses like Christies or Sotheby’s are also very good alternatives to start your search. Thanks for Reading
Mural by JOHN BALOSSI from 1979 Located Near Expreso Baldorioty For the juegos Pan American Games in San Juan 1979. What happen? It got painted over, erased from our history.
Since completing his graduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009, Angel Otero has devoted himself to revitalizing painting with a highly concept- and process-driven approach to the well-traveled medium. The Puerto Rican-born, Brooklyn-based artist’s recent exhibition at Kavi Gupta offered a tightly focused look at six red-and-white abstractions, the largest of which are 8 by 10 feet. They are all from a 2015 series titled “Lago,” a reference to the red-painted town in Clint Eastwood’s 1973 Western, High Plains Drifter.
Angel Otero: Tatara, 2015, silicone and cadmium pigment on canvas, 96 by 120 inches
The compositions are based on family photographs, which Otero manipulates in Photoshop and then enlarges. But as he acknowledged to me in an e-mail, it is virtually impossible to discern anything recognizable in these works. “I guess over time,” he wrote, “I have become shier about the obvious exposition of the content, because it went toward a very nostalgic route, and that was not my intention.” Indeed, without the suggestive name of the series, the individual titles of the paintings and the supporting information provided by the gallery, these works would likely be perceived as pure, allover abstractions.
Despite the boldness of the red hue, this series is more subdued than Otero’s earlier highly textured, heavily worked and multicolored pieces, some of which involved applied sheets of rippled dried paint. After digitally converting a source photograph into a series of horizontal lines, the artist projected the image onto a sheet of brown paper the same size as the final canvas.
He then traced the projection with silicone, removed the paper from the wall and let the material dry into a flat surface that served as a kind of printing plate. He coated the silicone surface with red cadmium powdered pigment and applied it to a stretched canvas covered with a white acrylic gel medium that acted as an adhesive. Pressing on the back of the silicone sheet, Otero transferred the image to the canvas.
Devouring Afternoons, 2015 silicone and cadmium pigment on canvas 72 x 96 x 2 inches 182.9 x 243.8 x 5.1 cm
The result is a mix between a relief print and a painting, with chance, as in all printmaking, playing an important role in the final image. While the works are dominated by the irregular horizontal lines, there are also red specks and splotches, as well as scattered tan patches—sections of the brown tracing paper inadvertently collaged onto the canvas. These “little accidents,” as Otero calls them, break up the monochrome and add welcome variety to the compositions.
Teatro, 2015 silicone and cadmium pigment on canvas 84 x 60 x 2 inches 213.4 x 152.4 x 5.1 cm
As a consequence, the paintings have an appealing sense of imperfection and immediacy. Some, like Tatara, possess a more open feel due to greater exposed areas of the white acrylic gel, while others, like Sober Ghost, are more closed in. However, the variances among these six works are subtle.
“Untitled” 2015 silicone with cadmium red on Arches paper 22 x 31 inches
Otero has been experimenting with silicone transfers since he was a student. But with the “Lago” series, they have grown in size and complexity and gained fresh inspiration, bringing together digital modes of looking with innovative production techniques.
“Torpedo” 2015 silicone and cadmium pigment on canvas
Mural by JOHN BALOSSI from 1979 Located Near Expreso Baldorioty For the juegos Pan American Games in San Juan 1979. What happen? It got painted over, erased from our history.
Puerto Rico Art Review & Art Collection 