Opening reception: April 27, 2013, 7:00 p.m.
From April 27 through May 20, 2013.
The Michael Margulies Artist Agency presents “The Valdeziacs” a solo exhibition featuring new works from painter Kiki Valdes. “The Valdeziacs” is the culmination of Valdes’ most recent works. Many of the current paintings move into a new direction for the artist. Cartoon characters provide the first entry point to Valdes’ complex explorations of layered cut canvas collages, abstractions and figurative cartoon imagery. He paints the excited, cryptic images of bubbly faces and toon masks to convey a feeling of childhood nostalgia as a visual tactic to address space and form.
Valdes sees the cartoon imagery as a way to communicate and connect with a wider audience by conjuring memories. Cartoons have seeped into our consciousness since childhood and the artist uses those recognizable images and memories as prop for questions about painting and our obsession with the familiar. The new works in “The Valdeziacs,” the title in itself is a nod to childhood nostalgia, plays with form. Valdes turns various characteristics of known cartoon figures into a complete abstraction. Certain qualities like curves, exaggerated eyes and big mouth emphasize the duality of his compositions and create a battle between the familiar graphic figuration and what is familiar in painting. Valdes creates a place where darkness and light meet. He merges both and they open a dialogue and leave space for interpretation.
The Michael Margulies Artist Agency at 101 Exhibit
101 NE 40th Street
Miami, FL 33137
www.marguliesagency.com
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