Jesse Reno and Miguel angel del Campo exhibit opens at Galleria Dante
Friday, December 30, cocktails 6 pm to 10 pm
Jesse Reno – A Self taught, mixed media painter. He has been drawing since age 5, exhibiting since 2001. Having exhibited extensively in USA, Canada, and more recently in Europe and Mexico.
In the latest series of paintings by Portland-based artist Jesse Reno, shamanic beings struggle to find their place in a world simultaneously on the verge of expanding and collapsing. Totem animals and Native American figures reverberate memories of people who once lived as one with nature. Marked by symbols, these figures seek their dreams in the growth of trees and the passing of spirits. on a quest to find their true selves, they collect feathers and relics left by past encounters and past lives. They learn to transcend the boundaries of the rational world evolving into a collage of what they have become and encountered. In this body of work, Reno presents us with a journey leading inward to ultimately expand outward: “If you have moved wisely your dreams will still grow when you are gone.” -Jesse Reno
Jesse’s works are best described as: A Primitive Abstract Narrative, searching for understanding through introspection, a basic wisdom of things based on connection to ones ideas ideals and dreams. A visual narrative derived from the interpretation of creations made up of intuitive actions manifesting as abstract shapes, forms and emotions. A process without pre-conceived plans just a thought and feeling following one after the other to become an idea… changing directions as forms emerge to find an idea free from judgment, something true in and of itself. From this a world of personal myth, iconography, symbols and beings are created
In the latest series of paintings by Portland-based artist Jesse Reno, shamanic beings struggle to find their place in a world simultaneously on the verge of expanding and collapsing. Totem animals and Native American figures reverberate memories of people who once lived as one with nature. Marked by symbols, these figures seek their dreams in the growth of trees and the passing of spirits. On a quest to find their true selves, they collect feathers and relics left by past encounters and past lives. They learn to transcend the boundaries of the rational world evolving into a collage of what they have become and encountered. In this body of work, Reno presents us with a journey leading inward to ultimately expand outward: “If you have moved wisely your dreams will still grow when you are gone. My work acts for no reason other than to convey an inner struggle for expression – simple and direct. Open for interpretation. Always with purpose. Words mis-spelled, left out – just like real thinking, the disconnected string of thoughts that guides the day. This is my expression.”
http://www.galleriadante.com/Artists/Artists%20active/reno.htm
Miguel Angel Serrano Martin del Campo was born in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico. He currently lives and works in Guadalajara, Mexico. He studied Fine Arts at the Cabañas Cultural Instituto from 1992 to 1995, and specialized in wood and stone carving courses in 1996. During his studies at the Instituto Cabañas, he studied modeling, mold making and glazing tile under teacher Antonio Ramirez Ruiz. This period marks the beginning of his fascination with color in sculpture. Constant touring in the Mexican states of Jalisco, Michoacan and Oaxaca brought him closer to the magic of the original artisan crafts of those areas and the complexity of shapes, colors and narrative told in each piece.
“To observe the craftsmanship of the people we reach deep down to uncover their deepest feelings, their festivals, their customs, their thoughts. There is a phrase that says: “There does not exist a substantial difference between craftsman and artist, the artist is an inspired craftsman.” (Walter Gropios). And I believe that it’s a mix that never fully merges together. Each of my works represents a knot in the fabric that I forge day by day. For that reason, in each of my pieces I seek to make them unique, different from the rest. Each creation is the result of the past, present and future.“
In 1997, he traveled to the city of Florence, Italy, where he lived until 2007. For four years, he directed the design area of a ceramic factory “cotto” in the town of Strada in Chianti. For three years, he was professor of sculpture at ADA, art academy, also in Florence. During his stay in Italy he participated in competitions, two of which are awarded Internationally. He particpated in many exhibitions, both collectively and individually. He founded the “Asociación Cultural Arteria” in Florence. Between 2006 and 2011 he developed his work and participated in events in Mexico, Italy, Colombia and USA. Miguel Angel is a great admirer and lover of “art nouveau”, geometry, insects, animals and plants in general.
He admired and was influenced by artists susch as: Alberto Giacometti, Giuliano Vangi, Hundertwasser, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Egon Schiele, Salvador Dali, Henri Matisse, among others.
“My work revolves mainly around three elements: Metamorphosis, Change and Movement. I am currently developing a project called “Mixed Beings” – A series of sculptures in which the botanical world, animals, minerals, insects, objects and the human being are intertwined. I define it as “mixed beings”, but also as “beings of light” – Beings who are born of light and follow the light (born and reborn). As the plants (tropism toward light) Tropism: total or partial movement of organisms in response to a stimulus. Born as a man and be reborn as a cock “Rooster-Man.”
http://www.galleriadante.com/Artists/Artists%20active/del%20campo.htm
