MARTIN DURAZO | Axioms and Ecstasies
March 28 - April 25, 2015
March 28 - April 25, 2015
For exhibition images, please scroll down.
Barbara Davis Gallery is pleased to announce Axioms and Ecstasies, a solo-exhibition by Los Angeles-based artist Martin Durazo, opening Saturday, March 28, 2015, with an artist’s reception from 6:30 - 8:30pm. This exhibition is on view March 28 - April 25, 2015.
Martin Durazo's Axioms and Ecstasies is comprised of new paintings that explore the correlation between aestheticized formalist principles and spirituality found in illicit forms of existence. Washes of electric color stratified by varying depths of liquidity and fields of pulled opaque paint layer the surface of the canvases. Delicate sutras of glitter, aerosol, and bursts of metallic paint create a sense of depth, focusing on the underlying impulses of the spiritual-abstract nexus. Overall, the works serve to unfold an allegory that is emblematic of a collective contemporary human experience of the subliminal.
With the bombardment of sensations that the modern world presents, it is becoming increasingly necessary to be more transcendental in nature. The desire to focus inward is forming a momentum that is simultaneously arduous and pleasurable--timely, yet rooted in the history of consciousness. As a result, these works evoke intimate sensations found in the mystical, the lyrical, and the impulsive. Amidst the phantoms of trace images, geometric patterns satellite around luscious fields of color hailing the viewer to consider a return towards a complex present.
About the artist:
Martin Durazo lives and works in Los Angeles. He received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Art from Pitzer College. Durazo is the recipient of the 2012 C.O.L.A. Individual Artists Fellowship from the City of Los Angeles and a 2011 California Community Foundation Fellowship Award, funded by the Getty Trust. His work was included in the inaugural 2011 SUR Biennial and in 2010 he was an Artist-in-Residence at the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica. He has exhibited at the Torrance Art Museum; PULSE Los Angeles Contemporary Art Fair; Pomona College Museum of Art; MexiCali Biennial 2013; Harris Art Gallery at the University of LaVerne; White Box in New York City; ArtForum Berlin and Art Basel Miami Beach. His work has been reviewed in Flash Art International, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, LA Weekly, Artweek, and Art Review. He has also been a producer for KPFK Radio, where he is regularly featured in discussion about art and social issues.
Click here to view more images of Martin Durazo's work.
Axioms and Ecstasies opens Saturday, March 28, 2015, with an opening artist’s reception from 6:30 - 8:30pm. Artist will be in attendance. This exhibition is on view March 28 through April 25, 2015. For more information, please contact Barbara Davis Gallery at 713.520.9200 or info@barbaradavisgallery.com.
Martin Durazo's Axioms and Ecstasies is comprised of new paintings that explore the correlation between aestheticized formalist principles and spirituality found in illicit forms of existence. Washes of electric color stratified by varying depths of liquidity and fields of pulled opaque paint layer the surface of the canvases. Delicate sutras of glitter, aerosol, and bursts of metallic paint create a sense of depth, focusing on the underlying impulses of the spiritual-abstract nexus. Overall, the works serve to unfold an allegory that is emblematic of a collective contemporary human experience of the subliminal.
With the bombardment of sensations that the modern world presents, it is becoming increasingly necessary to be more transcendental in nature. The desire to focus inward is forming a momentum that is simultaneously arduous and pleasurable--timely, yet rooted in the history of consciousness. As a result, these works evoke intimate sensations found in the mystical, the lyrical, and the impulsive. Amidst the phantoms of trace images, geometric patterns satellite around luscious fields of color hailing the viewer to consider a return towards a complex present.
About the artist:
Martin Durazo lives and works in Los Angeles. He received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Art from Pitzer College. Durazo is the recipient of the 2012 C.O.L.A. Individual Artists Fellowship from the City of Los Angeles and a 2011 California Community Foundation Fellowship Award, funded by the Getty Trust. His work was included in the inaugural 2011 SUR Biennial and in 2010 he was an Artist-in-Residence at the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica. He has exhibited at the Torrance Art Museum; PULSE Los Angeles Contemporary Art Fair; Pomona College Museum of Art; MexiCali Biennial 2013; Harris Art Gallery at the University of LaVerne; White Box in New York City; ArtForum Berlin and Art Basel Miami Beach. His work has been reviewed in Flash Art International, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, LA Weekly, Artweek, and Art Review. He has also been a producer for KPFK Radio, where he is regularly featured in discussion about art and social issues.
Click here to view more images of Martin Durazo's work.
Axioms and Ecstasies opens Saturday, March 28, 2015, with an opening artist’s reception from 6:30 - 8:30pm. Artist will be in attendance. This exhibition is on view March 28 through April 25, 2015. For more information, please contact Barbara Davis Gallery at 713.520.9200 or info@barbaradavisgallery.com.

Full Press Release |