Matthew Cook, Elvira Dayel & Julio Rey de Castro – Portraits Art Exhibition

Artist Portfolio Magazine

Matthew Cook – Perrysburg, OH – http://www.facebook.com/MatthewCookArtist

My artwork takes a critical look at identity and how we choose to display ourselves to those around us, hiding blemishes, imperfections, impurities and shortcomings and often pretending to have, or exaggerating about nonexistent qualities. In my work I attempt to reveal this hidden identity through the washing away of the metaphorical, mask-like sins, to reveal what was previously hidden.

It is my goal to show, through this process, the figure in an unedited, heightened approach to realism, showing every blemish, pore, and wrinkle, similar to early works of Chuck Close and the works of Thomas Ruff; as well as to show the viewer the act of cleansing and acceptance of the beauty of imperfection.

Elvira Dayel – San Francisco, CA – http://www.elvira-artist.com

my search within the arts is always through the darkness first. Drawing to me is a kind of blindness at first, as I am working through the drawing there is a moment when all of a sudden there is a slit, a cranny of light which opens up – and I can see! At this moment the doors of a new vision, a new perception open up. As the dark of the reality “shifts and morphs, the shades take on a different meaning, and ideas and concepts stand out… This opening of the subconscious enables me to create new work manifesting my personal observation of the world. Every time as I approach a new sheet of paper, I feel as though I submit myself to forces. In the dark I search for the sublime – for me it is when the dark becomes poetry.
Elvira Dayel’s work oscillates between being purely conceptual (as reflected in the current experiments with new media of 3d print & 3d digital rendering) and conceptually surreal (as exemplified by the works of soft pastel on paper). The space between concept and abstraction, concept and representation, conceptual surrealism carves its inhabitation. With a strong color palette, and having their own language, her work is idea driven. Regardless of the medium or method of expression the unique vision and world view distinctly come through the work. Is there one particular message in the work? Collectively artwork is in no way about any one narrative, individually, though, each work may be dissected and analyzed and there clearly is a distinct idea and a commentary in each drawing or in a series. There is a minimal amount of information used; i see myself as a minimalist; only as much as needed to convey an idea. Athough color palette is rich, it is always very carefully selected. Each work, each landscape exploration, creates a parallel reality and carries its own vision. Made-up / created landscapes are new realities & are loosely grounded to provide a vision for an abstracted notion of a place, space, or absence thereof. These notions generate an invented (fictional) city/place, thus the work creates its own context which other work may inhabit. Furthermore, we are be able to notice that a certain set of parameters which feed the work is at play such as careful selection of the media, certain method of object abstraction.

Julio Rey de Castro – Deltona, FL – http://Instagram.com/jrdc2123

34 year artist self taught

Originally from Peru, I did not paint till the age of 23 and Ever since then art is my life. I had to stop painting for family involving issues but now I am creating again and about to embark on a voyage where art will be the wind behind the sails.