Published - March, 24, 2006
View solo exhibit before it
closes
"Mangroves," an exhibition of acrylic paintings by Xavier Cortada at
Artel gallery, closes today. The solo show is rare for the gallery,
whose schedule usually is packed with juried group exhibitions.
Cortada was invited up from Miami, where he holds court as a sort of
environmental artist. The mangrove tree, a true Florida native with
three species, is his personal symbol for preservation, resilience and a
sense of community. The trees' exposed labyrinth of roots serves as
shelter from predators for fish. In this show, Cortada focuses on their
seedlings.
Epitomizing his approach is an acrylic on canvas titled "Three seeds on
red." The seeds resemble small pipes with eye-like markings. In "Three
seedlings at Sea," the seeds levitate above water like caught fish.
Cortada extends his take on the seeds with the Braque-like painting,
"Pelican." Abstract forms are deconstructed with his same mangrove motif
of orb structures.
The show's largest piece is a 60-inch-by-96-inch painting titled
"Music." Cortada culminates his style here with a huge brightly colored
montage of instruments with his kinetic wavy lines and swirls. The
sights that he's set on Miami, the murals on highway overpasses and
installations on urban gentrification, are far more visceral.
Xavier Cortada's show "Mangroves" closes today
at Artel Gallery.
Special to the News
Journal