ARTIST IN FOCUS
ADRIAN AVILA | The Rough Edges of Refined
Something About Adrian Avila...
Urania
Muse of Astronomy and Celestial Navigation
Oil on canvas, 72” x 72”
Recently acquired
Adrian Avila has said about his studio practice that it is rooted in an exploration of the “timeless self and its relation to the collective consciousness.” These words resonate, from any point of view, of one who searches and even for one who has been found.
The sum total of our humanity has a huge lingering question mark that is embedded on our forehead, “where are we going and what is our collective intention as a human race?” In the often messy pursuit we sometimes are fortunate to get glimpses of our purpose in the chaotic quotidian effort of living in our modern, contemporary, viral, artificially-flavored, life. For those of us who are lucky enough, we find the answers in our pursuits.
Adrian Avila is an artist who questions, rethinks and re-approaches his thoughts. But, his mental inquiries are not asked so much as to ever be answered, but yet they are not rhetoric either. They are what becomes the foundation for the approach he takes to his work, his art, his livelihood. And in the grubby act of day-to-day pursuits, that is enough. More than that, from what we can witness on the canvases he paints, it is beautiful, bordering sublime.
He thinks of himself as “a visual anthropologist,” and pointedly seeks to “catalogue my journey of unlearning social paradigms while connecting to my spirituality as I create a new visual language for the examination of emotions.” So it is that we we become the witness, and maybe even partially a player as we experience some answers he has gifted us with through his refined portraits of our humanity.
Scaffold Philosophizing
Click on the artist above, Adrian Avila, to go to video.
In an impromptu conversation on the street, some 8-feet above the graffitti-filled sidewalk in Wynwood, on a early morning when the sun was ablaze, I found myself asking Adrian about his work.
We got to talking about what motivates Adrian, the artist; and he shared his thoughts on a few subjects. What I learned that day, by watching him work in rough conditions, under a hot sun, with buckets of paint and what heavily used large brushes on a sludgy ready-made palette, is the perfection of talent that to the eye is raw, rough and ready, but the results become so refined.
But, we were just shooting the breeze and that informal chat took on a life of its own and has become part of our Artist in Focus Series, presented by OMSA Gallery and produced by me, your humble Curator on the Street.
Hope you enjoy listening in.
Daniella Sforza
Tulipmania, 2024
Oil on wood board, 28″ x 31″
Porsche night + ART
Fourth edition of Porsche night at omsa gallery
AN EVENING OF CAMARADERIE,
CARS & CONVERSATION IN A CULTURAL SETTING
Countdown to rev up your energy, if not your engines with this much anticipated event:
With libations and victuals available from Ceviche by Divino
And art by our imitable artists, some of whom will be present from our Summer Exhibition:
MINDFIELDS OF COLOR
Janet Siegel Rogers
Jesus Rojas
Johan Wahlström
Gustavo Oviedo
Do not forget to slip behind the gallery to our TRASTIENDA The studio where magic happens.
We are excited, proud and grateful to announce our participation in this year's
35th edition Art Miami during Miami Art Week.
See you at the fair.
