The Divine and the Divined

18″x 18″
Oil on panel

My own contribution from the recent Tales from the Darkside show at LaBodega.

Rather drolly-or should I say troll-y, I got some push back on this when I posted it on social media from the usual self righteous quarters. How oddly ironic, that the dogmatic ever entreat that they be accepted in every faction of existence, yet never seem willing to extend the same courtesy themselves. 

Happy Holidays from Starbucks anyone?

Regardless, they are a ways off the mark in their usual bobble headed outrage for this one.
It was originally planned for the series I’m working on “Paradiso’s Fall”, which has become something of a vignette of ill omens, pointing towards what I perceive as man kinds inevitable demise. I’m hearing the term “personal apocalypse” coined a lot since I first used it some months back, but I believe it’s a predisposition inherent within us all.

This piece, portraying the mother-the holy vessel or paragon of virtue, literally transformed to the symbol of that final nail, is just merely another emblem of a paternally manifested future, inherently pushed to its own end. If you’d have said “Enola Gay” and “Little Man”you’d have been on the money.

Anyone who further missed the point, clearly didn’t see the whacking great atomic symbol, smack bang at the center of the piece. But then, I daresay nuclear proliferation in the hands of a madman who loves to push buttons, barely warrants a  semblance of grey matter either.
The worm coiling from the cuff, is just a further token of dehumanization, as we slither back toward the primal dirt from whence we came.

So perhaps its biblical after all.

Seeing the light

Tales from the Darkside at Labodega. October 13 2018.

Some said that the grim pall of clouds that had gathered over San Diego, seemed apropos to the theme of the show. But if the summoning of stormy skies was as an ill omen to dissuade hordes of eager visitors, it hadn’t worked on that particular night.

And if there was a breeze detected, it was likely a result of my audible sighs of relief. Why…? Because my first co curated showcase, featuring over fifty contemporary dark artists – Tales from the Darkside at  LaBodega gallery was finally here.

It’s long been a given, that any visible art scene on the west coast, pales by degrees south of the I5. Having lived in San Diego for over a decade, I’ve certainly found that to be the case. But this night was different, it felt like the chance to dissolve the barriers, level playing fields and overcome the inequality that exists in a gallery system so riven with wrong headed prejudice towards the genre, but also one where an exclusion zone exists for anyone who isn’t a darling of the LA art scene. On October 13, established painters shared walls alongside bright, fledgling artists, alongside artists who are veterans and never really ever get a fair crack at the whip. All a collective,all and unstoppable force toward a common cause-dark art, because in times such as these, culture can be both a black mirror and a catharsis.
And if I’m want to wax lyrical and pile on superlatives, it’s because I’m still heady from the experience, as utterly draining and exhausting as it was, because make no mistake, being on the other side of the easel for a change is all encompassing. Small change when one considers the stellar retinue of artists and the work they produced.

My Indebted gratitude then to them all, to the folks and friends who attended the event, and most of all to my brother and sister, Chris Zertuche and Soni Lopez Chavez, for giving me the opportunity to host an event at such a remarkable gallery.

For purchase details, please contact Chris at labodegagallerysd@gmail.com

You can see a preview and photos from the show from the following links:

Tales from the Darkside preview

LaBodega official photos

Poster Art by Martin Woodhead-“Harbinger”

Sandy Yagi
“Hatching Death #1”
Oil on panel | 12×16″

Paul Nebarra
“The Forsaken”
Oil on canvas| 9″ x 11″

Jeff Christensen-
“Away, the ghost”
Oil on panel |11″ x 14″

Brooke Weston
“Vermillion Temple”
Taxidermy Deer/mixed media

Nannette Cherry
“Anamnesis (After Jozeph Simmler)”
oil on board | 12” x 12”