Me again! Just popped in to share these wonderful art reviews and recommendation with you. First, David Pagel of Los Angeles Times reviewed Martin’s Plata O Plomo on Friday, October 22, 2010. Mostly positive I think. Here’s an excerpt:
The centerpiece is a towering tour de force that transforms the high-ceilinged space into a secular cathedral. On a 16-by-12-foot expanse of silver-coated insulation board, Durazo has used homemade stencils to spray paint the basic shape of a volcano. Its dark interior is adorned with irregular triangles, a fractured pentagram and the shadowy silhouettes of nocturnal animals. Durazo also has hurled sharp metal throwing stars into its surface, creating an unholy altarpiece to self-destructive urges and the fireworks that sometimes erupt from the struggle to contain them.
He really didn’t like Martin’s video piece, though. It can be a tough one to watch for sure, and I was a little shocked when I first saw it. But it goes very well with the theme I think.
The mirror piece is truly beautiful, and although easily missed if not looking carefully, it puts the ugly side right there in the open. Shinny, reflective pieces seemingly suggest glamour and style, but beneath that fragile surface (or in this case above it) the violent dark forces lurk. It demonstrates a world that’s at once mesmerizing and extremely dangerous.
Added Note: it dawned on me earlier that the mirror piece resembles a molecular structure. Genius, Mr. Durazo!
Read the whole review on Los Angeles Times’ Culture Monster. Oh, google “Plata O Plomo”, too.
Chris’ Animate Objects got a great plug in Visual Art Source’s weekly recommendations. It’s short and sweet. I’ll let you read it in its entirety here (scroll down to the bottom), and leave you with a couple of the installation shots.
