RICARDO MAZAL V I O L E TA
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B H U TA N
RICARDO MAZAL V I O L E TA
SUNDARAM APRIL
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B H U TA N
TA G O R E 6
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JUNE
SINGAPORE 4,
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TH IS EXH I B ITION IS DE DICATE D TO MY B ROTH E R
GALLERY MISSION Established in 2000, Sundaram Tagore Gallery is devoted to examining the exchange of ideas between Western and non-Western cultures. We focus on developing exhibitions and hosting not-for-profit events that encourage spiritual, social and aesthetic dialogues. In a world where communication is instant and cultures are colliding and melding as never before, our goal is to provide venues for art that transcend boundaries of all sorts. With alliances across the globe, our interest in cross-cultural exchange extends beyond the visual arts into many other disciplines, including poetry, literature, performance art, film and music.
V I O L E TA
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B H U TA N
For his second solo show at Sundaram Tagore Singapore, acclaimed Mexican-born artist Ricardo Mazal presents new abstract oil-onlinen paintings that expand upon two of his most powerful bodies of work: Violeta and Bhutan. Both of these series draw on Mazal’s ongoing fascination with spiritual themes and reveal his increasingly abstract approach. The new work from Violeta, the first series featured in this exhibition, is the artist’s most refined and personal body of work to date. These minimalist, abstract paintings envelop viewers in lush, vibrant color. Mazal explores a broad spectrum of hues within the violet family, from stark, lavender-tinted white to crimson, aubergine and the deepest purple-black. He bisects several canvases, creating opposing color planes, adding an element of tension. In a departure from previous studies stemming from his travels, Mazal began this series in his Santa Fe, New Mexico, studio while working on a painting where the subject matter was set against a midnight-blue background. Looking to enliven the canvas, Mazal added a single, vivid streak of violet and was immediately struck by how the color electrified the composition. What began as an endeavor to recapture the original tone and texture of this random swath of color ended up becoming a detailed investigation that resonated with the artist in unexpected ways.
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In the place of photography, Mazal’s traditional starting point for his work, music was his muse—specifically Symphony No. 4, Los Angeles by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. When he began this series, Mazal was grappling with grief surrounding the long-term illness of a family member and the music both inspired and centered him while he painted. Color became a spiritual outlet with music as the conduit. Beyond color, texture plays a central role in this body of work. Mazal carves grooves into the tips of dry paintbrushes, which he then pulls through thick layers of oil paint to achieve the desired effect. The resulting linear trails recall the crystalline layers of the Tent Rocks, sedimentary formations that populate the national parks of Santa Fe where Mazal often hikes with his family. They also create small chasms of varied color that invite the viewer to examine the work more closely in an effort to discover their depths. The Bhutan series culminated Mazal’s near decadelong investigation of the sacred burial rituals of various cultures. His explorations have spanned from the Mayan tomb of the Red Queen in Palenque, Chiapas, 8
Mexico to the Peace Forest cemetery in Odenwald, Germany. Bhutan focuses on the region’s billowing prayer flags that adorn the landscape with brilliant colors, each symbolizing a different element of nature. The flags, which are hung from bridges, mounted on rooftops and strung from one hilltop to the next, are often inscribed with mantras or prayers for good fortune and it is believed that the wind delivers these blessings to the world. Mazal has deconstructed and reconfigured details from previous paintings in the series to create the works on view here, employing a regenerative and cyclical process that closely parallels the spiritual themes he explores. Mazal began this series with photography, a medium that he describes as a bridge linking reality to abstraction. He manipulated his photographs from Bhutan on the computer to create digital sketches. He then transitions to stretched linen, delicately layering oil paint using foam-rubber blades, applying bold swaths of color within grid-like compositions. Although carefully compartmentalized, Mazal’s gestural strokes are charged with movement and energy. The resulting works are more abstract
than previous series, demonstrating that with each investigation, Mazal continues to distill his concepts down to their simplest form. A highlight of the exhibition is an interactive video installation, inspired by the Buddhist belief that prayer flags generate positive thoughts. Viewers are invited to inscribe their own thoughts and prayers onto a touchscreen and then watch as their words instantly integrate into the digital composition of blowing, billowing flags. The words then dissipate, as if carried away by the wind. The piece was first executed in Mazal’s solo show at the Museo Estación Indianilla, Mexico City, in 2015. Seen together, this selection of paintings and video transforms the gallery space into a meditative environment and uncovers a powerful new direction of the artist’s oeuvre.
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V I O L E TA
Green and Payne’s Grey Band 1
2017, oil on linen, 26 x 27 inches / 66 x 69 cm 12
White and Grey Band 2
2017, oil on linen, 26 x 27 inches / 66 x 69 cm 13
Red and Payne’s Grey Band 1
2017, oil on linen, 26 x 27 inches / 66 x 69 cm
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Violet and Red Band 1
2017, oil on linen, 26 x 27 inches / 66 x 69 cm 16
Violet Blue and Grey Band 1
2017, oil on linen, 26 x 27 inches / 66 x 69 cm 17
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Violet Red and Red Band 2
2017, oil on linen, 26 x 27 inches / 66 x 69 cm
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Violet Blue and Violet Band 1
2017, oil on linen, 26 x 27 inches / 66 x 69 cm 22
White and Violet Blue Band 2
2017, oil on linen, 26 x 27 inches / 66 x 69 cm 23
Green and Payne’s Grey 2
2017, oil on linen, 40 x 42 inches / 102 x 107 cm 24
Grey and Violet Blue 3
2017, oil on linen, 40 x 42 inches / 102 x 107 cm 25
Violet Red and Red 1
2017, oil on linen, 40 x 42 inches / 102 x 107 cm
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White and Violet Blue 3
2017, oil on linen, 40 x 42 inches / 102 x 107 cm 28
Violet and Red 2
2017, oil on linen, 40 x 42 inches / 102 x 107 cm 29
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Green and Payne’s Grey 1
2017, oil on linen, 48 x 57.5 inches / 122 x 146 cm
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Split Violet Blue 4
2017, oil on linen, 48 x 57.5 inches / 122 x 146 cm 34
Violet Red and Red Band 1
2017, oil on linen, 48 x 57.5 inches / 122 x 146 cm 35
Violet Blue and Grey 1
2017, oil on linen, 66 x 76 inches / 168 x 193 cm 36
White and Grey Band 1
2017, oil on linen, 66 x 76 inches / 168 x 193 cm 37
Violet Red 3
2017, oil on linen, 66 x 100 inches / 168 x 254 cm
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Violet 3
2017, oil on linen, 66 x 100 inches / 168 x 254 cm 40
Violet Blue 4
2017, oil on linen, 66 x 100 inches / 168 x 254 cm 41
White and Violet Blue Band 1
2017, oil on linen, 83 x 128 inches / 211 x 325 cm
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B H U TA N
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Bhutan Abstraction video installation, Museo Estaciรณn Indianilla, Mexico City, 2015 CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO ABOUT THE INSTALLATION
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Bhutan PF 26
2016, oil on linen, 54 x 64 inches / 137.2 x 162.6 cm
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Bhutan PF 31
2016, oil on linen, 40 x 42 inches / 101.6 x 106.7 cm 50
Bhutan PF 30
2016, oil on linen, 40 x 42 inches / 101.6 x 106.7 cm 51
Composition in Green 10
2014, oil on linen, 71 x 73 inches / 180.3 x 185.4 cm
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Bhutan Abstraction with Green 1
2014, oil on linen, 71 x 73 inches / 180.3 x 185.4 cm 54
Bhutan Abstraction with Grey-Green 1
2014, oil on linen, 71 x 73 inches / 180.3 x 185.4 cm 55
L: BA Study with Red 5 R: BA Study with Black 5
2016, oil on linen, 23 x 24 inches / 58.4 x 61 cm 56
L: BA Study with Green 6 R: BA Study with Yellow 6
2016, oil on linen, 23 x 24 inches / 58.4 x 61 cm 57
ADDITIONAL
WORKS
Odenwald 1152 N.13
2008, oil on linen, 78 x 120 inches / 198 x 305 cm
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Noviembre 1.12
2012, oil on linen, 33 x 33 inches / 84 x 84 cm 62
Black Mountain MK 10
2014, oil on linen, 40 x 42 inches / 102 x 107 cm 63
Black Mountain MK 5
2014, oil on linen, 66 x 98.5 inches / 168 x 250 cm
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Composition in Yellow, Green, Blue and Red 1 2014, oil on linen, 63 x 94.5 inches / 160 x 240 cm
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Septiembre 18.15
2015, oil on linen, 50 x 54 inches / 127 x 137.2 cm
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RICARDO MAZAL Ricardo Mazal was born in Mexico City in 1950. He has exhibited extensively in galleries and museums throughout the Americas, Asia and Europe, including the Museo Estación Indianilla, Mexico City; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Mexico; Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City; the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona; the Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe; and the Americas Society, New York. In 2006, a retrospective of his work was held at the Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City and in 2009/10, in the Museo de Arte de Querétaro and the Museo de Arte Abstracto Manuel Felguérez in Zacatecas, Mexico. In 2015 Mazal’s work was included in Frontiers Reimagined, a Collateral Event of the 56th Venice Biennale. Ricardo Mazal’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona; Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City; Museo de Arte Abstracto Manuel Felguérez, Zacatecas, Mexico; Maeght Foundation, Paris; Centro de las Artes, Monterrey, Mexico; Cirque du Soleil, Montreal; the Peninsula Hotel, Shanghai; and Deutsche Bank, New York and Germany. Mazal divides his time between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and New York City.
SUNDARAM new york new york hong kong singapore
TA G O R E
GALLERIES
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President and curator: Sundaram Tagore Director, New York: Susan McCaffrey Director, Hong Kong: Faina Derman Sales director, Singapore: Melanie Taylor Exhibition coordinator/registrar: Haslinda Abdul Rahman Designer: Russell Whitehead Editorial support: Kieran Doherty and Payal Uttam
W W W. S U N D A R A M TA G O R E . C O M Photographs © 2017 Ricardo Mazal Text © 2017 Sundaram Tagore Gallery All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.