Enrico Gomez, Press Play & Record; Papago Nights I & II, 2012, mixed media on stretched paper, 24 x 22 inches (each one 11 x 10 inches)
SILVERMAN and Majestic Theatre Condominium Association present
Enrico Gomez: Me and My Shadow
Opening Reception: Friday, June 7, 2013, 7—9 p.m.
The Majestic Theatre Condominiums
222 Montgomery Street
Jersey City, NJ 07302
201.435.8000
Exhibition on view in the lobby from June 7, 2013 to October 30, 2013
“Stretched paper, for me, has everything to do with feel and finish. It is incredibly satisfying to paint on the surface equivalent of a snare drum or tambourine”—Enrico Gomez
SILVERMAN AND MAJESTIC THEATRE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION present “Enrico Gomez: Me and My Shadow,” curated by Brendan Carroll. The exhibition presents a new series of acrylic paintings on stretched paper and panel that investigate (and disguise) various letterforms. Gomez’s small geometric abstractions dazzle as much as confound the viewer.
Gomez paints modest hardedge abstract compositions based on bits and pieces of letterforms. To engage the viewer, he uses the most basic components in painting–line, shape, color, and texture. Though Spartan, his application of paint is sensuous, and speaks to the artist’s hand. His pictorial vocabulary recalls early Abstraction as much as commercial typography. On the surface, his compositions appear to be as straightforward as a punch in the nose. Vibrant geometric shapes pop against white backgrounds. What you see is what you get…Sort of.
At first glance, the paintings present a presumably arbitrary arrangement of shapes—quadrilaterals, hexagons, octagons, etc., But on second and third viewing, his colorful, unruly polygons, seemingly encased in cozy white fields, begin to shift up and down, side-to-side, as if they have ants in their paints. The more you look at these elements within the frame, and the negative spaces surrounding them, the more they begin to take on recognizable shapes; namely, letterforms in the Roman alphabet. His compositions avoid easy identification, which is both strange and compelling. Gomez’s difficult to pin down paintings do not so much offer resolution, as they encourage the act of seeing.
Gomez is a painter, curator, and critic. His work has been featured in numerous galleries, including Pop Up Art Shop, Barranquilla, Columbia; Front Room Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; Small Black Door, Ridgewood, NY; PS122 Gallery, New York, NY; Chashama TIXE Gallery, New York , NY; and Camel Art Space, Brooklyn, NY. Currently, he is co-director and curator for Parallel Art Space in Ridgewood, New York. He writes exhibition reviews for WAGMAG, a monthly art guide based in Brooklyn. His writing has also been published in The Archive: Journal of the Leslie-Lohman Gay Art Museum and Esse Arts + Opinions. He received his B.F.A. from Arizona State University in 1996. He lives in Jersey City, NJ, with his partner, Kevin Moore, and his dog, Willie.
The exhibition will be on view at Majestic Theatre Condominium through October 30, 2013. For further information, please visit us at SILVERMAN or call number (201) 435-8000.
Enrico Gomez: Me and My Shadow is the fourteenth exhibition that Brendan Carroll will organize for SILVERMAN.
For additional information, go here: Enrico Gomez.
SILVERMAN has presented the works of Charlotte Becket, Roger Sayre, Karina Aguilera Skvirsky, Tom McGlynn, Margaret Murphy, Valeri Larko, Tenesh Webber, Glenn Garver, Jennifer Krause Chapeau, Michelle Doll, Tim Heins, Megan Maloy, Laurie Riccadonna, Thomas John Carlson, Tim Daly, Ann Flaherty, Scott Taylor, Jason Seder, Sara Wolfe, Beth Gilfilen, Andrzej Lech, Hiroshi Kumagai, Tom McGlynn, Victoria Calabro, Asha Ganpat, Darren Jones, Ryan Roa,Laura Napier, Risa Puno, Nyugen E. Smith, Amanda Thackray, and Kai Vierstra.
Brendan Carroll 