Carlos Vega uses large-scale lead plates, stamps, oil paint and collage in new works that reference the traditional latticed screens of his native Melilla, a Spanish city in North Africa. His solo exhibition Tearing & Lifting is on now at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York. (Above: Not Loud Enough, 2012, stamps and oil paint on lead, 60 x 48″)
-I Thought of That, 2012, stamps and oil paint on lead, 91 x 60″
The architectural elements, made from ornamental patterns, function as windows in homes and convents, keeping interiors private but allowing a vista to the outdoors. Vega transforms large-scale malleable lead plates through engraving and deep cuts, producing geometric designs that play with ideas of seeing and being seen.
Vega’s new work also includes figuration, in Don’t Tell Me You Can’t (above: 2012, stamps and oil paint on lead, 83 x 60″). It depicts a man bearing the weight of a massive donkey, disguised as a deer, with antlers encrusted by images of political, national and social leaders. Vega uses this image to forward his egalitarian view in which any individual can make a significant contribution to their generation.
-Opportunity Waits, 2012, oil pastel and oil paint on lead, 69 x 57″
Carlos Vega was born in Melilla, Spain and lives and works in New York.
Gallery website, here.
Images courtesy Jack Shainman gallery
I Thought of That and Opportunity Walls are fabulous.
I absolutely love them.
You find the best stuff.
Thank you so much. Isn’t he just amazing?
really good!
Thank you for stopping by.
The red lava core laced with tree roots is my favourite!
I’m back and forth on whether the blue one or the red one is my favourite. They’re both fabulous, though. Thank you for taking the time to leave your thoughts.
Reblogged this on photographyofnia and commented:
Wonderful art works…
I specially like the first and the second, mainly because the color combination (grey/blue and grey/red) and the subtle tones of the birds and the leaves. Really good.
robert
Yes, the combination of colors, material and images is striking, isn’t it. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
I wasn’t sure at first what I thought of “Don’t Tell Me You Can’t” but they’re all incredible. I especially like the tree. It reminds of a sculpture that used to be in a little gallery in the mountains. His message, his concepts, are interesting.
I still don’t know what I think of Don’t tell me . . . . but like you, I think he’s both interesting and insanely talented. Your thought about the little gallery in the mountains reminds me that just about all the art I find and like is connected back to something else, and it delights me to make these realizations as I go. Thank you for taking the time to browse, to comment and also to follow.
And thank you for presenting us with such great and varied talent on your blogs.