FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Angel Delgado
Límite continuo / Continuous Limit
First U.S. solo show
Janunary 17 - February 28, 2009
Artist’s Reception: Saturday, January 17, 6-8pm
166 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, California 90036
Director: Darrel Couturier
(323) 933-5557, fax (323) 933-2357
E-mail, info@couturiergallery.com
Web site, http://couturiergallery.com
Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11am-5pm
Angel Delgado, Hacia donde vamos XI / Where We Go XI, 2008, soap, mixed media, 13-1/4“ l x 8” w x 7-1/4“ h.
Couturier Gallery is delighted to present the works of Cuban artist Angel Delgado in his first solo show in the United States. Delgado, most noted for his soap sculptures and drawings on handkerchiefs which he began while in prison, will exhibit his current handkerchiefs series, soap sculptures, paintings and drawings on sheets, and installation pieces in small suitcases. The opening reception will be on January 17, from 6 – 8 pm, and the artist will be present.
In 1990, Delgado spent six months in prison as a result of his performance art piece in Havana where he defecated in public on top of a Cuban Communist newspaper. During his incarceration, Delgado acquired various artistic skills from his cellmates and created artworks from unconventional materials, the only that were available in jail: sculptures out of soap and drawings on handkerchiefs using colored pencils and face cream. Delgado has since expanded his “repertoire” to include paintings and drawings on bed sheets (used, of course) and installation pieces whose thematic references address containment, restraint and lack of freedoms.
These works reflect a continuation of the form, medium, and techniques used during Delgado’s imprisonment, a time where his new artistic language and creative expression were born. The limited material sources opened up a new means of expression, while these simple elements became a part of his artistic identity. In the Pañuelos series, a group of 20 painted handkerchiefs, the figures, depicted with fine, thin lines, are contrasted against a background of metal chains, heavy-duty locks, and fetters –strong iconographic imagery of oppressiveness and imprisonment. The figures are always depicted either trapped or confined, without ever achieving victory and where hope is eliminated. These detained figures are not merely Delgado’s autobiography but a metaphor of humans living without freedom or democracy.
Interestingly enough, the physical borders Delgado experienced in jail still resonate, and are part of his artistic expression as every object and figure is surrounded or limited by tangible borders. In “Memorias acumuladas”, for example, the miniature objects (coins, color crayons, chains) are each placed in the middle of an individual carved soap, thus separated from one another, and limited to the space created by borders, just like living in a cell.
Angel Delgado’s work may be found in numerous museum and public collections including Prins Claus Funds, The Netherlands; Farber Collection, Miami FL; EFC Holdings, Inc. USA; Fine Arts Conservation, Inc. USA; International Sculpture Center, USA; Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA.
