Antonio Mena by Antonio Mena Joya

INDEX

Artist Statement

Tub Gallery

Accumulations

National Typology

Sorpresitas

Painting

ANTONIO MENA

ARTIST STATEMENT My interest in the arts was precocious. I aspired to be an architect. Also, I studied music at The National University of El Salvador in the effervescence of the civil war throughout the 1980’s. While a student in Graphic Design at the José Matías Delgado University of El Salvador, I got the opportunity to continue studying Fine Arts in Barcelona, Spain. As an artist in Barcelona and Cadaqués, I reviewed diverse aspects of pure Surrealism and Surrealism in Abstraction. Both art movements influenced my work. Moreover, Nouveau Réalisme, which is the European version of Pop Art, also impacted my work. My formal interests are based on a ludic sense of space and geometry. Conscious and unconscious moments of my inner self define a mathematical system in order to develop an architecture that uses materials, textures, and color for the construction of my pieces. I get inspiration from light and darkness, they inform the perceptions of human drama in my work. I pursue not only spatial expressiveness in assemblage works, but also, I seek to contextualize characters with their own environments in my photographic works. Because of my consciousness towards nature, I appreciate and enjoy coastal culture. However, I regret the vast amount of waste that our consumerist culture pours into the ocean. As a result, I decided to recover waste materials in order to work on formal compositions that re-contextualize these wasted objects. Particularly, I focus my collecting process in plastic shoes, sandals and every day use objects. This series of works is titled Accumulations. I seek to convey my environmental concerns and views because all of us are affected by this problem. Furthermore, I have an interest in national identity as a subject matter. In a parallel form, I have been capturing the different representations of Salvadoran nation identity through an ample album of photographs. This ongoing project is titled National Typology. Up until today, this series includes more than 700 photographs. My work has been shown in diverse spaces in United States, Central America & Europe. Antonio Mena, May 2014.

TUB GALLERY - MIAMI “TUB” gallery is a creative tank anchored in the Wynwood district of Miami, Florida focusing on contemporary art, which promotes a platform through interaction with other disciplines such as design, architecture and community projects. Our intention is to present and reinforce emerging artists worldwide, the possibility to enhance their work by providing exhibits that are carefully presented by invited curators. “TUB” gallery’s focus is to DRAIN the ideal perception of “gallery space” and to FLOAT a dialogue which can be presented through monthly exhibitions of all media.

ACCUMULATION SERIES In Accumulations Series, I transform the most common day-to-day objects found in the Salvadoran landscape such as the typical beach sandals known as “yinas” or “chancletas.” These works are tropicalized ready-made versions. My process consists of selecting and collecting these sandals at river deltas on the Salvadoran seacoast. Then in the studio, all these collected materials are cut, washed, classified, combined, organized and assembled by nailing and gluing. The resulting pieces are formal studies of material, texture, form, color and composition. In this manner, Accumulations Series recontextualizes waste objects into accumulative assemblages, shaping and following circular and random spiral paths. Conceptually speaking, these works are closer to the 60‘s Nouveau Réalisme, this movement has interest in the intervention of objects that define a standing era of social compromise with the inhabited environment. Because I am interested in the quotidian world, I question the use and significance of most common objects. My goal is not only to denounce vanity, but also I call attention to the kitsch stylistic base of mass consumption. Environmental pollution is one of the most evident effects of those social attitudes. I believe that sculpture is a system that interweaves relations with the environment. On the one hand, while human beings congregate in cities, they generate objects of waste. However, people are always consciously ignoring their own wasting. On the other hand, no aesthetic values are given to these discarded objects until an artist recaptures, accumulates, and returns them as digested and transformed art works.

ACCUMULATION #15(DETAIL) / 2013 ASSEMBLAGE OF SEA-DISCARDED OBJECTS 16X22X22” 10

ACCUMULATION #14 / 2013 ASSEMBLAGE OF SEA-DISCARDED OBJECTS 16X22X22” 14

ACCUMULATION #11 / 2013 ASSEMBLAGE OF SEA-DISCARDED OBJECTS 16X22X22” 15

ACCUMULATION #15 / 2013 ASSEMBLAGE OF SEA-DISCARDED OBJECTS 16X22X22” 16

ACCUMULATION #12 / 2013 ASSEMBLAGE OF SEA-DISCARDED OBJECTS 16X22X22” 17

DUST PANS / 2014 INSTALLATION (AT TUB GALLERY) 5’X1’ 18

DUST PAN #11, #12, #13, #14, #15 / 2014 ASSEMBLAGE OF SEA-DISCARDED OBJECTS 15X12” 19

LANDSCAPE / 2014 ASSEMBLAGE OF SEA-DISCARDED OBJECTS 14X14X7” 20

NATIONAL TYPOLOGY A portrait series of Salvadorian people, of individuals, of couples, or of groups, that Antonio Mena carried out, presents to us a series of actors from the Salvadorian social scene. The collection works in various senses, situating the artist as a narrator of his time, as an investigator, and as a collector of personal histories. In his work, the artist appeals to the aesthetics of the quotidian, of the popular, and of the “kitsch”. Upon photographing his subjects, the artist documents a moment in time of Salvadorian society with his particularities in a way that recalls a catalogue. The effort in portraying distinct individualities confronts the artist, and the spectators of the work, with a complexity and pluralism of the “current urban tribe” in a way that we can’t help but speculate on the personalities and lives of those portrayed. In a society where advertising media and the tendencies of appreciation and consumption of the common citizen are supposedly dictated by a globalized aesthetic, that forms already part of our daily lives, and, I would venture to say, of our collective unconscious. Upon inviting us to see the common man, the vendor woman, the mechanic, the guard, the quinceañera, or the wedding guests, Mena presents us a humanized civil society, composed by individual projects and voices, with different idiosyncrasies and particularities, being precisely this variety of characters that offers the collection a sense of “otherness” that connects the spectator with the photography. This itself is due to the nature of Mena’s work, which moves towards the scope of cultural anthropology when it comments on the pluralism of society. Rodolfo F. Molina (1959 - 2013) Ex-President, INAR (Pro Pop Art Initiative Association) San Salvador, February 2012

SORPRESITAS Toni Mena faithfully continues pursuing the collective unconsciousness phenomena in the art object section. He works paying attention to traditional customs and its popular artistic development. For instance, the artist integrates infantile play games like sorpresitas (little surprises), which hides its lucky secrecy apparently by chance. The artist is interested in suggest part of the game development: from its euphoric package destruction to its classification and moreover to other unconscious but clever reorganization of the game pieces founded in these small packets. He arranges in a modular system these finding toys-objects inside of the particular grids of old wooden typography drawers. Thus, this little toys substitute old metal types. In his Allegory of Vanity, Mena reclassifies these objects in a new manner. He tries to establish a tridimensional image code by using them like new types and words. Everyone, likewise in a game, may rapidly associate new contents. These modular sequences denote a denouncing sexism: sorpresitas for girls and sorpresitas for boys. For example, the majority are soldiers referring the masculinized game of war, and cosmetics and jewelry that accord to the feminine vanity. Moreover, there also appear fake plastic but shining golden coins with the image of the Roman Caesar. They allude directly to the money game in both businesses. Other interpretation makes us to think about the origin of these objects. Also, it arises another questions like how function the production and the packing choices of these toys, including religious images and mini-calendars. Mauricio Linares Aguilar June 2008 UNTITLED(DETAIL) / 2008 PLASTIC TOYS ON WOOD 1’64”X1’64”X2” 34

UNTITLED / 2008 PLASTIC TOYS ON WOOD 2’55”X1’44”X2” 36

UNTITLED / 2008 PLASTIC TOYS ON WOOD 2’62”X1’77”X2” 38

UNTITLED / 2008 PLASTIC TOYS ON WOOD 2’62”X1’77”X2” 40

SEX / MONEY / POWER / 2008 PLASTIC TOYS ON WOOD 20X18X2” 42

PAINTING Toni Mena works from his drawings to his canvases, and from his canvases to his art objects. The artist occasionally changes his creative processes and departs in the opposite way: from the objects to the canvases and then to his drawings, and so on. These processes are not only exhaustive revisions but they accordingly contribute to develop connections and increase consistency into the whole production. Furthermore, Toni Mena devotes himself to the Jungian collective unconsciousness theory and artistic traditions based on Pop Art. Toni Mena expands his visual language in large canvases. He evolves from his gestural and automatic drawing to simplified compositions. Sometimes there is a unique component, and other times there is a centralized composition of objects. These images come from his sketches; nonetheless, they seem to come from a sordid and cryptic atmosphere. They are vanishing its figurative identity becoming closer to his particular abstract expressive mood. The artist used a limited color palette of grey earth tones, oxide, white and blacks with red accents on these flat canvases. They either recall urban motives: waste aged concrete, strange sculptural but monumental mutilate fragments, memories of erode sacrificed appearances, deafening screams, and jaws and molars that once ground words. Mauricio Linares Aguilar June 2008

UNTITLED(DETAIL) / 2008 OIL ON CANVAS 3’30”X3’30” 45

CHEMISE / MOLAR / PANTALON / 2008 OIL ON CANVAS 5’X5’ 46

THE PIANO / 2008 OIL ON CANVAS 4’26”X3’21” 48

UNTITLED / 2008 OIL ON CANVAS 3’30”X3’30” 50

LOBSTER CAGE / 2008 OIL ON CANVAS 4’26”X3’21” 52

ANTONIO MENA (EL SALVADOR,1972)

B.A in Fine Arts. University of Barcelona, Spain,. Mena produces paintings, drawings, installations, art objects, photography and printmaking works.

Solo Shows

Honors

National Public Library of El Salvador, Photography Project: National Typology, 2011- 2012. MUTE. Museum of the Municipality of Santa Tecla. National Typology, ESFOTO, 2011. National Hall of Exhibitions of El Salvador, Made in BCN 97-08, 2008. Pfeister Gallery, Gudhjem, Curated by Jon Micke, MA Art Theory, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art. Copenhagen, Denmark, 2007. D’ELBARÓ Gallery. Cadaqués, Spain, 2005-2006. Toni Mena: Paintings. D’ELBARÓ Gallery. Cadaqués, Spain, 2004-2005. Toni Mena: Drawings. Sala d’ Exposicions Casino de Cadaqués, Spain, 2001. Fernando Llort Gallery, San Salvador, El Salvador,1996. Selected Group Shows TUB Gallery, Removal Identity, August 2014. TUB Gallery Miami, April 2014. Art & Cultural Center of Hollywood, FL. 2014. Cultural Center SOMArts. San Francisco,CA. Invited for“Territories” 2010. Galeria 123, Abstractica, El Salvador, 2007. Maisson de L’america latine, Artistas Salvadoreños, Paris, FRC, 2005. Galeria Patrick Domken van Schendel, Cadaqués , Spain, 2005. Cadaqués Museum, Spain. 100 years of “Salvador Dalí” Curated by Pera Vehí, 2005. Marges-u Gallery Cadaqués, “Series” Spain 2002. Group show at the Real Circulo Artístico de Barcelona,1999. Forma Museum of El Salvador “Palmares Diplomat” 1997.

Selected artist. JUANNIO Collection, Guatemala, 2012. Honor Mention. SUMARTE. Museum of Art of El Salvador, MARTE, 2012. Selected artist. BIENAL Centroamericana, MARTE Museum, El Salvador, 2011. Selected artist. Museum of the Image Collection. Honduras, 2011. Invited artist. Photo Week DC. Washington D.C., 2011. Talent of the Year. Secretary of Youth of El Salvador, 2006. Commission of silk screen drawing series for the Casino de Cadaqués, Spain, 2002. Grant Award. Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Spain, 2000-2001.

Other Mena has worked as art project trainer led by the Ministry of Education of El Salvador and the Museum of Art of El Salvador, MARTE. He also taught at for several Salvadoran private universities from 2009 to 2012. During 1999, Mena worked as part of the setting up team for different exhibitions at Barcelona’ museums: Museo de Arte Precolombino Barbier-Muller, and Museo del Textil e Indumentaria. He worked as an In-house Graphic Designer at Bayer Laboratories (Central America) from 1995 to 1997, and at Art & Letters Editors from 1992 to 1995.

NATIONAL TYPOLOGY INDEX

Bella Esmeralda Car wash owner San Salvador Market Lady San Salvador Flor (flower) Corn tortilla sales woman La Libertad Fashionist San Salvador Nathalie Marisol Sales lady at auto-parts La Libertad Fish sales woman at the pier La Libertad Valerie Zaragoza Reyes-Mejia Wedding Suchitoto Eugenia Garcia at home Zaragoza Catholic lady Apaneca Homeless Santa Tecla Argellia Melendez at home San Francisco Gotera Arts & crafts maker Santo Domigno de Guzman Sonsonate

Free wrestler Apaneca At pier on holidays La Libertad Freddy the werewolf Handyman Apaneca Homeless man in San Salvador San Salvador Mr. Milton A/C and refrigerators La Libertad Mr. Chito Farmer Zaragoza Varieties Salesman Casa Guirola Santa Tecla Ice cream and pastry salesman Juayua Wood chopper Apaneca Luis “Tilinte” Handyman Zaragoza

Diego Roberto Cisneros Car wash supervisor San Salvador Fovial state worker Nuevo Cuscatlan Carlos Balmore “The deer” Farmer El Zonte Student going to work at bakery Apaneca July Dance student La Libertad Manuel Gallardo “La Tuza” Santa Tecla Chele Roman El Zonte At La Fabrik La Libertad Private security San Salvador Gustavo “Goofy” Arts and crafts studio Juayua El Teco The living leyend El Zonte

Hamacas salesman Suchitoto Herb salesman Suchitoto Lisandro Plumber San Salvador Bryan Guillen “Palo” Soccer Team El Zonte

Fashion design students Marte museum visitors San Salvador

Beatriz, Evelyn y Xiomara Prom El Zonte School

At the pier on holidays La Libertad

Interior design students San Salvador

Small Family at baptism Apaneca

El Cejas y Evelyn El Zonte

Single mother at baptism Apaneca

University teachers San Salvador

Marina y Esmeralda Mother and daughter at graduation El Zonte

Typical dress at independence day El Zonte

Distant brother and sister Ahuachapan Just Graduated San Salvador Romeo and JC Suchitoto Cousins El Zonte Distant Brothers Business man and mechanic Santa Tecla Mario Guillen At graduation El Zonte

Toto and Chicas Monica Herrera students Santa Tecla Irvin & Marvin Just deported Apaneca Sisters Apaneca Best friends At baptism San Salvador Jehova witnesses Santa Tecla Martinez Cortez family At graduation El Zonte

The Salamon brothers At baptism San Salvador

Soldiers San Salvador

Couple at chuch Apaneca

Cachiporristas San Salvador

ACCUMULATION #13 / 2012 ASSAMBLAGE OF SEA-DISCARDED OBJECTS 16X22X22”

ACCUMULATION #12 (DETAIL) / 2013 ASSEMBLAGE OF SEA-DISCARDED OBJECTS 16X22X22”