I dedicated my work to my mother Ana María García Valseca Laux.
OFRENDA A LA MADRE TIERRA (AMGVL)
MEXICO 30 AGOSTO 2008
LA EDUCACIÓN EN MÉXICO DUELE.
This modern-day devotional image installation is inspired on the Mexican tradition Day of the Dead offerings; it makes a metaphor of homage to mother earth and talks about social and environmental issues. With these installations, I create a space to generate civic engagement and social empowerment.
Offering to Ana María García Valseca Laux Installation soil, rocs, eggshell, wood columns, and candles National Mall Washington DC
Offering to Mother Ganga (AMGVL) 2008 Washington DC. Six feet installation: Salt, eggshells, 10 crystal containers with water, and Quartz crystals.
In this Six feet Installation I explore the significance of water, articulating its aesthetic and spiritual qualities, highlighting an understanding of its science, and intensifying society's political awareness on environmental and cultural issues related to Ganges River. To tell a Hindu that Ganga, goddess and mother, is “polluted” or “dirty” is an insult; it suggests that she is no longer sacred. Rather, the approach must acknowledge that human action, not the holy river herself, is responsible.
LA EDUCACION EN MEXICO 2010
Offering to Ana María García Valseca Laux Installation Soil, rocs, corn, wood columns and candles Diego Rivera Anahuacalli Museum Mexico City 2007
Offering to Ana María García Valseca Laux Installation soil, rocs, eggshell, wood columns, and candles Heineman Myers Art Gallery Bethesda Maryland U.S.A.
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OFRENDA AMGVL I OFFERING AMGVL I TEMPLE, HOJA DE ORO / MADERA TEMPERA & GOLD LEAF ON WOOD PANEL 63 X 91 1/2 C M COMPLETO 25 X 36 INCH FULL SIZE YEAR 2006
Critic The Art of Gerardo Bravo García By Dr. Karin Alexis, Ph. D. Art Historian, Coordinator, The Smithsonian Associates Western Art Certificate Program
Gerardo Bravo García is a modern-day symbolist. At first glance, his works may seem to be without an overt subject matter, but nothing could be further from the truth. Subject is always present in his art. It is conveyed to the viewer though universal symbols, such as the cross, the dove, and the simple fish, which are traditional emblems in Christianity. It is suggested though other symbols, such as hieroglyphics, pictographic images and geometrical shapes. Bravo Garcia’s is an art of subtle persuasion that draws the viewer in and compels the viewer to begin to read and contemplate visual symbols.
Born in Mexico City, Bravo García was first inspired to study art by his mother. His art is dedicated to the memory of her. Today he often works in tempera and gold leaf. Art is something to which he has given a great thought. Bravo García writes about his art, calling it “Calligraphic Privateness,” for he sees it as a means of self-expression. There is in his art a strong sense of delving into the soul of a person, reaching deeply into the spiritual life of a human being. He calls his works “offerings.” Through the use of recognizable symbols the artist transforms what may have begun as private meditations into universal images of visual prayer.
Although modern in style, Bravo Garcia’s paintings are evocative of older religious traditions, including icons. The use of gold, a traditional color used in medieval religious art, symbolizes the light of God, the heavenly and spiritual realm. In many of his works from the recently executed “Offering Series,” Bravo García uses a subdued shade of gold. Combined with neutral tonalities, such as grey, his works possess a contemplative character. Carefully arranged in a balanced fashion, Bravo García further establishes and reinforces a mood of sobriety and meditation. Symmetry is used to create visual and psychological equilibrium, thereby a quietude conducive to prayer and personal reflection.
In one painting from the “Offering Series,” Bravo García uses the image of the hands of God and Adam from Michelangelo’s famous depiction of creation from the Sistine Chapel. A triangle, a symbol of the Trinity, is placed over God’s hand. The hands meet on a circle, a symbol of eternity and of God. Four Greek crosses demark each corner. This is a modern-day devotional image, a homage to God and creation. The same geometrical symbols are found in other paintings. One painting in the Offering Series has a central heart juxtaposed with a dove, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. In another work, the dove is central focus. Light radiates around it like a halo, yet another traditional Symbol of spirituality.
Modern in form, traditional in spirit, Gerardo Bravo García has created s devotional art of homage and humility that inspires thoughtful prayer and contemplation even in our busy, contemporary world. March 2007
