Focus on Art
By Rob Mohr
Sensual Magic - Painting by Navarro Tadeo
Fine art involves the creation of a well-defined world, a way of expressing reality that is distinguished by its unifying structure, refined qualities, and clarity of purpose. Navarro Tadeo's works more than meet these basic needs, while leading the viewer on a sensual journey in which his paintings seamlessly merge the natural flow of line and form suggestive of pre-Columbian Maya art from the Usumacinta river basin, with the geometric style developed by the Toltecs and Maya sites in the Yucatan.
Reflecting a deep understanding of 19th and 20th century movements, Navarro expands the pointillist approach of the impressionist Seurat by applying broad points of color to create a sensation of texture which arouses a desire in the viewer to reach out and touch the surface as if it were a magical form of braille. His complex silhouettes of women also confirm Navarro's critical understanding of Cubist works by Picasso and Braque.
Navarro's eclectic approach results in paintings that vibrate with Latin emotions like those we experience reading A Simple Habana Melody, written by Oscar Hijuelos, or the hearing notes of Ay Mi Palomita, by Victor Jara. His paintings explode in a flourish of exuberant expression. They reflect a world in which each word, each note, each brush stroke pulls us into the creative heart of a complex, sensitive, and wonder-filled culture. Touched with the tip of a magic wand, his paintings express the dimensions of human life, human history, and the sensual world we share. Butterflies become symbols of dreams, dancing figures convey joy, while fluorescent vegetation invites the viewer to enter enchanted landscapes.
His painting, “Caminando Hacia La Libertad,” demonstrates Navarro´s mastery of story and function as a universal woman runs through her world of dreams and hopes in search of freedom from oppression. While, in his painting Vida Nueva, he combines cultures and historic periods by recreating, with a subtle change, a scene where a pre-Columbian royal Maya female pulls a knotted rope through a cut in her tongue as her blood runs down the rope into a clay vessel filled with parchments with written requests for advice from a royal ancestor. The parchments are then ignited and the rising smoke becomes a serpent from whose mouth the dead royal ancestor emerges. However in Navarro's painting the smoke serpent is rooted in the blood and flesh of a contemporary woman.
Navarro in all of his recent paintings reveals the soul, heart, and skill of a mature and gifted artist who creates new and dramatic ways of understanding what it means to be human. His capacity to grasp, and convey the complexity of Mexican culture is unique and reveal his history and extensive preparation.
Navarro Tadeo has a Masters Degree in Fine Arts (MFA) from the University of Guadalajara, and has served for a number of years as Professor of Fine Arts at the Centro de la Amistad Internacional de Guadalajara. He has won awards for his paintings in exhibitions in Mexico, the United States and France.
Galeria Sol Mexicano, Colon #13, Ajijic, will exhibit Navarro's works beginning the 10th of November, and "art lovers" are invited to a reception from 4PM to 7PM on the 13th of November where you will have a chance to talk with the artist. Also included will be works by Paulina Carretero and Lorena Chardi Cobo.
