Making bright colors, femininity, mysticism and nature appear completely harmonious in a way that still feels fresh can seem difficult, but Dual Nature: The Work of Cecilia Lueza pulls it off beautifully.
Dual Nature debuted at The Ormond Memorial Art Museum in Ormond Beach, FL on August 17 and runs until September 18. The exhibition combines works on paper, painting and sculpture that exude brightness and a concern with nature.
Lueza hails from Argentina. Since her early days of training at La Plata National University in Buenos Aires, Lueza has seen considerable success. Since 1993, she has participated in over 40 collective and solo exhibitions throughout the United States as well as in Argentina, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Spain and Uruguay.
Lueza has a very talented eye when it comes to color harmony. Had she been born decades earlier, her work could have held up well against that of the color field painters.
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| Wonder - Cecilia Lueza |
In Lueza’s self-portrait, Wonder, she features a sky blue orb and a golden basket weave pattern beaming down upon her face. Through the positioning of these elements the artist looked as if she had stepped inside James Turrell’s Skyscape installation on a bright summer’s day and snapped a pensive photograph.
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| Filia Maris - Cecilia Lueza |
Several parallels can be seen between Lueza’s work and the work of one of her artistic influences, Gustav Klimt. Lueza’s use of luminous, golden shades allude to Klimt’s famous Golden Phase. Klimt is also renowned for using the female form as subject matter, something that Lueza renders in a soft but evocative way. Filia Maris, a sculpture featuring a female nude with flowing hair standing up against a row of white and blue blocks says “earth mother” but doesn’t scream of essentialism. The dynamics between this feminine body and the macho, minimalist blocks (a la Donald Judd) provide a fantastic contrast and highlight Lueza’s oeuvre.
She describes her work as “the result of reality and fiction colliding in my mind to become a series of visions that sometimes are full of mystery, energy and surreal beauty.” To experience this energy and beauty for yourself, visit the Ormond Memorial Art Museum located at 78 E. Granada Blvd, or visit Lueza’s website at www.lueza.com.
