April 25 – August 1, 2009

Now 84 years old, Peruvian artist Fernando de Szyszlo shows no signs of slowing down.  In his current exhibition at Latin American Masters, Szyszlo has created fifteen mixed-media paintings, which combine subtle veils of acrylic paint with a mastery of charcoal drawing.  Szyszlo has a remarkable ability to “draw from the shoulder” creating bold sweeping forms of totemic power.  The monumental forms of Szyszlo’s paintings, weighted with a sculptural countenance, are accompanied by a surprising counterpoint of sinuous lines, which interlace and dance thru space.  Szyszlos’ “woven line” configurations evoke the delicate beauty of Peru’s textile traditions, adding poignancy to an atmosphere dominated by a violent lyricism.  Titles such as “Ronda Nocturna” and “Piedra de Sol” remind us of Szyszlo’s deep love of poetry, particularly, the poems of Pablo Neruda and Octavio Paz.  There are a plurality of associations in these works, a vision both refined and barbaric.  Whether leaning towards figuration or more abstract forms, Szyszlo’s paintings invariably express both a hunger for pleasures of the world and an awareness of extinction.

Born in Peru in 1925, Szyszlo had his first one-man show in 1947.  Two years later he moved to Paris (1949-1954) where he met his Latin American peers Soto, Tamayo and Paz.  Over the last half-century his paintings have been exhibited at important institutions world wide, including: Palazzo Strozzi, Florence; Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico; The Art Institute of Chicago; and the Guggenheim Museum, New York.  He has also exhibited at the São Paulo and Venice Biennales.