ESTHER ROSA
Esther Rosa is bringing a subtle but always direct sense of a distant realm of touches and forms, a page of historical references of the most interesting considerations on colors debated in Europe and in USA in the last seventy years. It is clear that Esther affirms her statement with a sense of grace and elegance, with lyrical gestures, based on a sensual poetic, revealing the underground world pulsing at different levels. The technique involved in her paintings, from the larger to the smaller, from the wood panels and the linen canvases, reveals an action of composing and decomposing, distributing layers and removing them, rotating the surface. This constant debate on forms, providing to them a new sense in terms of compositional structure, affirming and denying, structuring on the psychology of the colors, offers to the viewer a world of calculated tensions. The works of Esther suggest a musical echo, a memory of symphonic composition due to the quantity of instruments involved, but always maintained in a minimal set. Some of the paintings are under the idea and the aesthetic of symmetry; others are asymmetric with deep tones of Japanese and Asian influence. All the large areas of color in which Esther deposits the sense of her Spain: the lightness in contrast with a rich tradition of deep and strong colors, the movement of the wind and the water in her country, some color of the fields and the faรงade of the buildings. However, what is perceived is a sort of filtered atmosphere, an interior aspect of the soul, not physical at all and without points of reference with reality. What seems to be clear becomes mysterious, and what is there disappears, and in this game of lights and shadows, of smell and sound, the eyes abandon themselves in a distant dream. Maurizio Pellegrin Director National Academy School
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Paintings
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Installation and sculpture
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Art Statement
My work suggests a dialogue about cultural mix, my experiences, my personality, my past in Madrid and my present in New York. My background as a Psychologist, my experience in Human Resources and my day to day life inspire and move me to create. Through my paintings, installations and sculptures I am able to communicate a visual representation of my thoughts and feelings. “Breathing”, with its roots, elegance, serenity, joy, life and expression is all of this. “Breathing” represents my new identity. It is a new step in my life, now I am a newborn after two years of re-finding myself. Breathing has born as a solid body of work, organic forms inspire me in my process of layering, pouring and dripping paint in the canvas that flow in between the harmonic palette and the surface; when I work with paper, coffee filters, wood and beeswax, organic elements help me to reborn, to awake, to breath, to get alive... The process I developed in painting includes conscious and accidental methods and is gradually defined by discipline and persistence. Organic forms come naturally and create harmonious fluidity throughout the piece. Surface variances pull the medium into multiple directions. I work in numerous layers and make conscious decisions about leaving parts visible, obscuring or covering up areas, some times using sand, paper or mediums. Each step is dictated by the previous one. Some times metallic colors are incorporated in my paintings because their bring richness, luminosity and a touch of sophistication. The chemical reaction of combining certain mediums or metallic color with other pigments are unpredictable and can manipulate the colors, oxidation and how a piece turns out; It becomes a process of discovery which influences the way I approach future works. The complexity of paint application and layering techniques offer the viewer a tangible surface of the visual language which I am building. The process I developed in installations and sculptures comes defined by the choice of natural materials to work with, coffee filters, coffee, tea, wood, beeswax.... I stain the paper using coffee, tea...., conscious and accidental methods guide me to shape them. The final work evoke a dreamful nature!. 25
Biography Born in Madrid, Spain (Selected Exhibitions)
2013 Solo Show at Sohotel Artspace Gallery, New York, NY 2012 Atlantic Gallery, New York, NY. “New Directions”, Group Show. Solo Show at Sonia Gechtoff Gallery, New York, NY National Academy of Fine Arts, New York, NY. “Practices in printmaking” National Academy of Fine Arts’s Open House, New York, NY Sonia Gechtoff Gallery, New York, NY. “Photo Gesture Group Exhibition”, (two digital print selected) National Academy of Fine Arts, New York, NY. Group Exhibition Van Brunt Gallery, New York, NY. “Seeing is Believing”, Group Exhibition 2011 Affordable Art Fair, New York, NY. Standarte Gallery Centro Español La Nacional, New York, NY. “Spanish Abstract” exhibition Sonia Gechtoff Gallery, New York, NY. “The Charity Exhibition for Earthquake & Tsunami Victims in Japan” 2010 National Academy of Fine Arts, New York, NY. Mid-Year Show National Academy of Fine Arts, New York, NY. End Year Show, (artwork selected by a jury of National Academicians) 2009 National Academy of Fine Arts, New York, NY. Mid-Year Show, (one piece selected) National Academy of Fine Arts, New York, NY. End Year Show, (artwork selected by a jury of National Academicians) 26
Bibliography 2012 GQ.com, Spain, October 9th. “Breathing, de Esther Rosa, en la National Academy of Fine Arts de Nueva York” Expansion, Spain, October 6th (ill. p.40) Ronda Iberia, Spain, October (ill. p.13) Telva, Spain, October (ill. p.90) New York Post, July 5th, “Black and White” (ill. p.41) El Periodico de Cataluna, March 18th, “Artistas en Nueva York: Cinco espanolas que triunfan en la Gran Manzana” (ill. p.48) 2011 Expansion, Spain, May 27th, “El arte espanol mas femenino triunfa en la Gran Manzana” (ill. p.37) Blog Todo sobre Nueva York, November 2nd, “El NY de Esther Rosa”
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Index 5. Blooming in Winter, 2012 Acrylic on canvas 50x50 in (127x127cm)
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Freezing, 2012 Acrylic on canvas 42x32 in (107x81cm)
Blooming in Summer, 2012 Acrylic on canvas 50x50 in (127x127cm)
12. Spring, 2012
Reflections, 2012 Acrylic on canvas 50x50 in (127x127cm)
13. Dancing (tryptic), 2012
Fall, 2012 Acrylic on canvas 50x50 in (127x127cm)
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Summer, 2012 Acrylic on canvas 50x50 in (127x127cm)
10. Winter, 2012
Acrylic on canvas 50x50 in (127x127cm)
Acrylic on canvas 50x50 in (127x127cm)
Acrylic on canvas 24x24in (61x61cm) each
17. Breaking, 2012
Acrylic on canvas 48x48in (61x61cm)
18. Untitled, 2012
Acrylic on Wood panel 11x11in (28x28cm)
19. Vine, 2012
Acrylic on canvas 14x11 in (36x28cm)
Melting, 2012 Acrylic on canvas 50x20in (127x51cm)
20. Shore, 2013
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Dawn, 2012 Transfer and oil on Wood panel 20x16in (51x41cm)
23. In the Shore, 2013
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Nude (tryptic), 2011 Acrylic on canvas 48x24in (122x61cm) each
24. Coralina, 2013
Acrylic on canvas 60x72in (153x183cm)
Installation with coffee filters and hot glue Dimensions variable
Coffee filters over wood panel and beeswax Dimensions variable
Out of the comfort zone, 2012 Coffee filters and sea sponge Dimensions variable
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www.estherrosa.com
www.estherrosa-artist.blogspot.com
erfinearts@gmail.com