The works of painters Gilberto Aceves Navarro (1931-2019) and Daniel Lezama (1968) will be explored through the theme of Profound Mexico, the title of the exhibition conceived by the Hilario Galguera Gallery, which opened last Thursday.
Lezama had little contact with Aceves Navarro, whom he met at the end of his life, although “we respected each other immensely. I have always been enamored with his work. For me, he was a truly unique master in the history of contemporary Mexican painting, a master in the sense of teaching and shaping generations. I wrote about him many years ago for Día Siete magazine.” In his view, “the generations after the 1980s cannot be understood without Gilberto Aceves Navarro. By this, I mean the introduction of a style of painting with gestural figuration, with a formal use of color, and a construction that is, let’s say, not directly representational, but neither abstract, rather somewhere in between.”
“With a prolific output, his work is characterized by experimentation in thematic groups or series that explore and subvert historical references, including the artist’s own humorous pieces, such as Benito Juárez and the infant nation, which I find to be one of his most striking works.
“His working methods influenced a wide range of Mexican artists for many years. He was one of the people who most thoroughly researched and reflected on the teaching of painting, since it is taught by hand, or through direct example.
” “Basically, he is the person through whom painting survives today, in the case of Mexico. I know countless people who were his students and consider him a point of reference for how to capture the visual through drawing and gesture. This didn’t exist before the 1950s and 60s; it also doesn’t exist in certain forms of conceptual or non-objective art. Here we’re talking about a specific example of painting and drawing that has become a national benchmark.
“I really don’t know who else could teach 50 years of artists how to draw and paint by drawing.”
This is an idea the gallery had to create a project featuring two painters who have worked in and about Mexico, with a sensibility that doesn’t directly address specific national themes, but rather views them from an allegorical and formal perspective.
The work Lezama will present wasn’t painted specifically for this exhibition, but rather spans from the 1990s to the present. “We suddenly realized there was a unifying theme revolving around three subjects: the beginning of the world/primordial couple, childhood, and gardens.” “A unity was achieved without seeking it.”
–What is this “deep Mexico” to which the exhibition title refers?
–It’s a play on the idea of deep Mexico. It has to do with the fact that we are two artists connected by a relationship of fidelity, loyalty, and affection for this country. Here you’ll have a deep dive into the work of two artists who have explored Mexico from within—its symbols, its people, its colors, its history, and so on; of course, in different ways.
“To speak of deep Mexico is to speak of what doesn’t operate on the surface, of what we aren’t used to seeing.
“Mexico is a country about which there is an avalanche of literary, discursive, political, economic, and social references.
“In the end, everything coincides with the fact that there is an uncomfortable, unseen side. I have always approached all my themes from this uncomfortable, aesthetically unseen side. It has been a lifelong endeavor. Beyond aesthetics, it’s about entering the earthly realm.
” “It’s an effort that can’t be easily defined. You can’t just say, ‘Deep Mexico is a, b, and c’; that doesn’t exist. Deep Mexico is in all of us who live under draconian conditions. All of us who have lived here have made this pact with this country, with its risks and its misfortunes. Deep down, we all know what Deep Mexico is about, it’s just that there’s no way to define it as a discourse. Some of us know that it’s the secret cost of our lives, unlike belonging to other nationalities. Mexico and its mysteries, we might say.”
—Have you dedicated yourself to unraveling them?
—In the realm of my painting and, of course, sometimes in my life as well. For me, it’s the effort that all Mexicans make: to unravel them in our lives.
Source: jornada
