Alicia Paz
The Lake House
16 January - 28 February 2020
Opening Party: Thursday 16 January 6 - 8pm
“The two large monochromatic paintings are part of my ‘Family Tree’ series. Both are composed of a multitude of imaginary and somewhat neurotic characters, strung beads, painted foliage, and various gothic annunciatory texts. They are not arranged in any particular order, but instead follow instinctive relational rapports – hinted narratives.” - Alicia Paz
School Gallery is pleased to present The Lake House, an exhibition of new work by Alicia Paz. The Lake House consists of two large monochromatic paintings – A Spiritual Visitation and The Lake House – both part of an ongoing Family Tree Series. A Spiritual Visitation is painted in varying shades of blue with images inspired by Italian baroque stone garden sculpture, medieval statuary and gargoyles, as well as carnival masks. The Lake House is painted in varying shades of red with family members represented by a set of doll-like puppets. The two paintings are connected by a large sculpture in the form of a ceramic necklace. The necklace hangs in the space like an oversized prop that has emerged through a Lewis Carroll looking-glass.
Alicia Paz has a multifaceted practice working with paint, print and sculpture, often simultaneously. She incorporates sculptural elements in her paintings with heavy application of paint, attached beads and collage. Paz's paintings, collages and standing figures deal primarily with identity and the notion of a divided subject/author, and explore the mutability of subjectivity.
Speaking about the work for The Lake House Paz said, “The use of negative space and the choice of colours in these works partly references floral decorative traditions and techniques from the history of applied arts, and notably that of majolica or porcelain ceramics, in which the use of metal oxides such as cobalt or manganese, applied over a white glaze, produces an intense blue or a deep red over a white background. The items decorated thus are intended for a domestic realm, in the shape of ornate plates, saucers, cups… and these paintings have much to do with the domestic. They explore the complicated inhabitants of a family, (albeit a mental one) and the symbolic weight material accoutrements can have within a family, the bonds and connections objects can represent. Each tree is a metaphor for the self, for the many voices and relationships that continually shape one’s identity”.
Alicia Paz has had several solo exhibitions in the UK, France, Germany, Mexico, and Argentina, most recently at Kunstmuseum Magdeburg, Germany (2015-2016). This exhibition was accompanied by a 96-page bilingual monograph published by Verlag für Moderne Kunst, Vienna. Other solo projects include an exhibit at Dukan Gallery in Leipzig (2014) and at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Paris (2013). A semi-retrospective exhibit of her work was featured in L.A.C. Sigéan in collaboration with FRAC Languedoc-Roussillon, as part of the regional biennial titled Casanova Forever (2010). Paz has participated in various international painting survey exhibits such as Slow Magic, Contemporary Approaches to Painting at the Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool (2009) as well as Heute. Spektrum. Malerei. at Kunstmuseum Magdeburg (2012). Her work was included in the group exhibit Tous, des sang-mêlés, recently held at MACVAL, Vitry-sur-Seine, France (2017). Earlier solo presentations include Drawing Now Paris at the Carrousel du Louvre with Galerie Dukan & Hourdequin (2012), as well as Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London (2006) and Ruth Benzacar Gallery in Buenos Aires (2005). Paz's work is part of various public and private collections and has been the subject of numerous catalogues and publications; her work has has been reviewed/featured internationally (Art News, Art Press, Modern Painters, Art Forum, Turps Banana, The Guardian, Le Monde, Libération, Beaux-Arts Magazine, New York Times, Reforma, etc…).