Artist of the Week : Alejandro Garcia Lemos

I have the fortunate pleasure of training with docents who are also artists. Alejandro and I are not friends (yet) but in time he will realize how fabulous I am...oh and this picture does NOT do him justice. Nor does the pictures I have posted. He has many of them on his website that I was not able to put on here. If you like these there are better ones posted on the link below.

Melusina is simply a different name given to Mermaids or Sirens, the sirens where named as such because they enchanted sailors with their chanting (siren) to drown them in the waters. I really don´t think they have seen gorgeous white mermaids, sirens or melusinas but rather sharks or dolphins, and even better they were probably enchanted by beautiful natives during their long and lonely journeys trough the waters and islands. Mermaids have been painted but many artists, in Melusina Mulata I tried to confuse the viewer by combining the image of a beautiful rather black or mulata female laying in the water being close to a fin, or is it simply a siren. I based my image in the images created by Modigliani.

This series of 20 paintings is the result of a solo show at Clemson University for Hispanic Heritage Month in 2004. Each painting tells a story of migration, exploitation and despair. Latino Gothic is a response to actually seeing Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” in Chicago. Latino Gothic explores the issue of a second-class subgroup of people in America. This series also presents some of the standard jobs that Latin@s are drafted to perform as a result of their migratory status. Latino Gothic tries to portray the many burdens that undocumented Latin Americans face when looking for a better future in the United States of America. Each piece is based on a famous painting of a European or Latin American master.

Self Portrait

 

In August 2012, Alejandro Garcia Lemos featured an exciting show at the Goodall Gallery at Columbia College – Portraits of Collaboration. In this suite of works, he painted figures who were important in the art scene of Columbia, including Georgia O’Keeffe, who was his main inspiration for the underlying message beneath the show. Alejandro and I worked closely to premiere this trio of printed media for the show, which was heavily advertised comparative to many other shows at the Goodall Gallery. My aim was to capture the essence of his meaning and exemplify that through the printed media. 

CONTACT INFORMATION:

http://www.garcialemos.com

Friday Cottage ArtSpace
1830 Henderson Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Tel: (803) 397 7686
alegar78 [at] gmail.com