David Castillo Gallery is proud to present José Lerma’s Guaynabichean Odyssey, a new series of eccentric paintings that delve into the medium’s historical role of commemorating social status, and generating myths for the wealthy and powerful. Born in Spain and raised in Puerto Rico, the artist has developed a project inspired by Spanish conquistador, Juan Ponce de León, and his search for the mythical Fountain of Youth in modern day Florida. With a dash of inspiration from his personal history, Lerma’s work often reflects on pictorial traditions such as portraiture by prodding at colonial tropes evidenced. Both an exploration of the conceptual and material issues of painting, he deftly employs a variety of non-traditional materials and hybrid techniques in the works he has created for this exhibition.
The exhibition features Lerma’s recent experiments in applying relief techniques to children’s brightly colored polymer clay to create paintings with lush textures and tactile surfaces. These portrait paintings, recalling honorary medals or coins, will punctuate the show depicting individuals who have contributed to the myth of Ponce de León over the centuries. Other works in the exhibition include the artist’s "glass-less" mirrored surface paintings, a rejoinder to Michelangelo Pistoletto’s paintings on mirrors that he produced in the early sixties.
David Castillo Gallery
420 Lincoln Road
Miami Beach, FL 33139
305 573 8110
www.davidcastillogallery.com
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