The Frank Lloyd Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of recent work by Mexican ceramist Gustavo Pérez. The elegantly abstracted vessels, made of sand-colored clay, are accented with black, green and blue glazing in geometric and linear patterns. Presenting more than thirty works, the exhibition will survey the recent evolution of Pérez's ceramic sculpture.
Working in clay since the early 1970s, Pérez maintains a constantly evolving relationship with the medium. The works in this exhibition demonstrate his endless and brilliant variations. Some works are defined by distinct geometric patterning in greens, blues and blacks. Others are more subtle and sinuous, their tan surfaces accented only by Perez's minimal linear incisions. In some, the structure of the vessel has grown more complex, with terraces, arches and shelves that seem almost architectural. All demonstrate an expert blend of influences honed over a long and productive career.
As Sergio Pitol describes in Pérez's retrospective catalogue, "One striking feature of Pérez's ceramic works is their refined, extremely elegant design. Another is that this elegance and refinement appear as something perfectly natural, like Brancusi's sculptures or Gunther Gerzo's work, but with another specific quality: the absolute freedom these pieces convey by almost immediately communicating to the viewer the dynamic skill of the hand."
This exhibition is presented concurrently with an exhibition of paintings by renowned painter, sculptor and graphic designer Vicente Rojo. Pérez and Rojo, both based in Mexico, have followed each other's work over the years, forming a longstanding friendship and artistic dialogue. Rojo will exhibit six paintings from his Pequeños Cráters series. This exhibition of contemporary works from Mexico continues the gallery's mission of introducing established international artists to a Los Angeles audience.
Gustavo Pérez, who has been exhibiting internationally since the 1970s, was born in Mexico City in 1950. His work is currently the subject of a major retrospective at the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City and is well-represented in permanent collections in Mexico and abroad. Museum collections include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Long Beach Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City, and the Museum of the Shigaraki Foundation, Ceramic Cultural Park, Shigaraki, Japan. This is his fifth solo exhibition at the Frank Lloyd Gallery. |