Esteban Ocampo-Giraldo

Also on view in The Mausoleum: Jeff Ladouceur "Shlooby Room"

Twenty-Nine Primaveras marks the gallery solo debut of Colombian painter Esteban Ocampo-Giraldo. The title is a reference to the artist's age and to the biographical nature of the oil paintings. The show features two bodies of work:

Larger canvases depict scenes drawn from memory and nostalgia merging with grittier allusions to adult life. In deliberate contrast to widely held stereotypes about Colombia, Ocampo-Giraldo celebrates simple moments that reflect small town pleasures. At the same time, these seemingly innocent swimming pools, ping pong games and soccer matches are filled with chaotic masses of adult men, painted, at times, with a raw expressionist roughness, occasionally foreboding and always technically facile. “Netflix and Chill” and "Tocá Ese Cuero" (Touch That Leather) are quieter nocturnal scenes that explore dramatic contrasts of light and dark. In the latter, a large city looms over a makeshift night scene of an improvised playground pitch complete with tiny goal made from an upturned bench. As youthful distractions merge with adult realities, the tone of the narrative is left to interpretation.

A sequence of smaller self portraits add to these often bizarre narrative juxtapositions. Painted with verve in one sitting and without revision, these self-portraits exhibit a diversity of both style and identity. The constant reinvention of self and of artist in these works are oddly cohesive despite their technical and retinal multiplicity.

The Mausoleum: Our experimental outdoor venue “The Masoluem” features new sculpture by Canadian artist Jeff Ladouceur. Well known for his meticulous drawings, he expands his visions in three-dimensions. About the artist, The New York Times notes “Mr. Ladouceur envisions consciousness expanded to include everything beyond personal identity — all that we keep at bay to maintain our distinctive selfhood. The mind has powers far exceeding those of ordinary egos.”