“We come from light, the sun. Everything that is illuminated has a shadow. Every shadow has a soul.”
When was the last time you thought about your shadow? When was the last time you thought about your shadow and had it mean so much more than just your body interrupting light? Artist Vicente Peris and his upcoming exhibition La Sombra explore the artist’s perception of the shadow and what it means in connecting humanity.
Everything from the trees to the bees to people, under the sun, we’re all the same. With shadows, there are no colors, no races, nothing to really make us stand out amongst the rest, and in this sense, we are all connected. This is a simplified way of describing the concept of La Sombra. In Peris’s words, La Sombra begins with a reflection of the sun’s projection onto canvas. The shadow is the essence of each particular person. While the shadows are their own entity, La Sombra’s transversal continuum, its fragmented mesh, links them and us, all together. Needless to say, the notion is abstract and complex, and it is accompanied with absolutely stunning visual art.
La Sombra, which translates directly to The Shadow, is an interactive installation comprised of three parts. Each part stands on its own and holds true to its form, but they work in tandem with each other to create the entire experience. The pieces: The Transparent Shadow, La Sombra Transparente, The Painted Shadow, La Sombra Pintada and The Liberated Shadow, La Sombra Liberada. La Sombra’s theme of a continuum stretching beyond reality comes together as viewers walk through the work itself. As a piece of the art and of the exhibition, the audience can take this avant-garde vision and know they are essential to its velocity.
“For me, painting is communicated through space and experience, not necessarily a 2D surface. Painting in this sense gives it a new vision and a new perspective. While working on a project involving a local newspaper, El Pais, I saw the shadows coming through the journalist’s photographs. I saw the shadows of the people, and then as I turned the pages of the paper, the concept of doors [becoming a fragmented continuum] enlightened me. I saw that the images alone told the story and without the text, the stories came out of the paper and formed almarios, soul closets.”
It could be said that La Sombra began during the creation of El Pais, and it was after this piece that Peris began establishing the foundation for La Sombra-- La Sombra Transparante. La Sombra Transparante, which was first exhibited in 2003, is a 200 meter long-walk-through-experience ‘continuum’ that is ‘painted’ with gunpowder. With unbelievable precision, Peris ignited the powder to reveal (and sear) the moving shadows into the canvas. Through deflagration, the shadows become transparent and bonded to the surface of the canvas. This piece, because of its size and layout, enables the aspect of an interactive art experience to take place.
With La Sombra Transparante as the starting point for the three-piece exhibition, La Sombra Pintada and La Sombra Liberada were destined to follow a similar practice. La Sombra Pintada was directly inspired by El Pais, capturing the “evolution of spirit” by means of political, social and cultural issues. Peris described this piece as almarios, which translates to soul closets. La Sombra Liberada is a labyrinth of endless combinations of revolving mobiles. The interactive structures hold the shadow outlines, with movements inspired by those of a soccer game. This particular piece of La Sombra alludes to the notion that the shadows are on their way of liberating from the surface and are taking on a life of their own.
“In my point of view, I want spectators to not only see it but to feel it, and to feel what I feel when I’m immersed in La Sombra. It’s not about seeing a surface, it’s about a different way of seeing art and allowing yourself to be surrounded by it. Rather than directly observing, you place a body in space, and suddenly you’re part of it. For me, creating art is a testimony of reality and of the moment. I aim to show reality. The shadow is the truth, and as with most artists, we are always looking for the truth. This is my interpretation of my findings.”
As a notable fine artist in Spain known for his masterful oil paintings, Peris is credited with bringing large scale interactive exhibitions, installations and performances to Valencia. He has exhibited internationally throughout his fifty-year artistic career and continues to show his work all over the world. After exhibiting La Sombra Transparante a handful of times in Spain, Peris is currently exhibiting all of La Sombra’s three pieces together for the first time. The installation, or interactive art experience, will be on display Thursday, September 21st, 2017 in Downtown Los Angeles beginning with an opening reception. The exhibition will run until December 7th, 2017. You can RSVP here.
All images courtesy of Vicente Peris