Ricardo Mazal | Violet

RICARDO MAZAL V IOL E T

RICARDO MAZAL V IOL E T

GALLERY MISSION Established in 2000, Sundaram Tagore Gallery is devoted to examining the exchange of ideas between Western and non-Western cultures. We focus on developing exhibitions and hosting not-for-profit events that encourage spiritual, social and aesthetic dialogues. In a world where communication is instant and cultures are colliding and melding as never before, our goal is to provide venues for art that transcend boundaries of all sorts. With alliances across the globe, our interest in cross-cultural exchange extends beyond the visual arts into many other disciplines, including poetry, literature, performance art, film and music.

V IOL E T

We are pleased to present a brand-new series of refined color studies

by Ricardo Mazal, one of Mexico’s most prominent contemporary artists. These highly distilled, abstract canvases build on the artist’s earlier explorations of spiritual themes.

Titled Violet, the series comprises oil-on-linen paintings that vary in size from 23 x 24 inches to 83 x 128 inches. The large-scale works envelope the viewer in lush, vibrant color, while the smaller works require a different vantage point, inviting the viewer to lean in as if inspecting the facets of a jewel. Mazal explores a broad spectrum of color within the violet family, from stark, lavender-tinted white to crimson, aubergine and the deepest purple-black. He bisects some of the canvases into opposing color planes, which adds an element of tension.

In a departure from his previous studies, which were drawn from his extensive travels, Mazal began this series in his Santa Fe studio while working on a painting where the subject matter was set against a midnight-blue background. Looking to enliven the canvas, Mazal added a single, vivid streak of violet and was immediately struck by how the color electrified the composition. What began as an endeavor to recapture the original tone and texture of this random swath of color ended up becoming a detailed investigation that resonated with the artist in unexpected ways.

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Violet Red 1

2016, oil on linen, 40 x 40 inches / 101.5 x 101.5 cm 8

Traditionally, photography has been the starting point of Mazal’s process. He generally uses his own photographs from his travels, which are often spiritual pilgrimages, which he digitally manipulates to compose a sketch of what he intends to paint. But in this case, music was his muse—specifically Symphony No. 4, Los Angeles by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.

Mazal was grappling with grief surrounding the longterm illness of a family member and the music both inspired and centered him while he painted. Color became a spiritual outlet with music as the conduit.

Beyond color, texture plays a central role in this series. In a shift from earlier works, Mazal has refined his distinctive gestural style. His hand is still visible, but it is much more controlled. Mazal carved grooves into the tips of dry paintbrushes, which he then pulled through thick layers of oil paint to achieve the desired effect. The resulting linear trails recall the crystalline layers of Tent Rocks, sedimentary formations that populate the national parks of Santa Fe where Mazal often hikes with his family. They also create small chasms of varied color that invite the viewer to examine the work more closely in an effort to discover their depths.

Mazal’s previous studies include a large body of multidisciplinary work inspired by investigations into sacred burial rituals. His next series was inspired by the colorful, billowing prayer flags of Bhutan. With each investigation, Mazal honed his vision, reducing and distilling his concepts to their simplest form.

The Violet series amplifies this process of reduction, focusing on a singular subject in what is his most refined—and personal—body of work to date.

—New York, November 2016

4 LOS A N G E L E S

4 Los Angeles - Violet Red

2016, oil on linen, 83 x 128 inches / 211 x 325 cm

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4 Los Angeles - Violet

2016, oil on linen, 83 x 128 inches / 211 x 325 cm

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4 Los Angeles - Violet Blue 1

2016, oil on linen, 83 x 128 inches / 211 x 325 cm

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4 Los Angeles - Violet and White (Peace) 2016, oil on linen, 83 x 128 inches / 211 x 325 cm

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4 Los Angeles - Violet Blue 2

2016, oil on linen, 83 x 128 inches / 211 x 325 cm

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V I OL E T

Grey and Violet Blue

2016, oil on linen, 71 x 82 inches / 180.5 x 208.5 cm 28

Red and Violet Red 2

2016, oil on linen, 71 x 82 inches / 180.5 x 208.5 cm 29

Violet Blue and Black 2 / Violet Blue 2

2016, oil on linen, 23 x 24 inches / 58.5 x 61 cm each 30

White Over Violet 4 / Violet Blue and Black 1 2016, oil on linen, 23 x 24 inches / 58.5 x 61 cm each

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Violet 2 / White Over Violet 1 / Violet Blue 3 2016, oil on linen, 70 x 55 inches / 178 x 140 cm each

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Red and Violet Blue 1 / Violet Red 2

2016, oil on linen, 23 x 24 inches / 58.5 x 61 cm each 34

Pink Violet and Violet / Red and Violet Red 1 2016, oil on linen, 23 x 24 inches / 58.5 x 61 cm each

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Violet and Steel Grey

2016, oil on linen, 71 x 82 inches / 180.5 x 208.5 cm 36

White Over Violet 2

2016, oil on linen, 71 x 82 inches / 180.5 x 208.5 cm 37

Split Violet Blue 3 / White and Violet Blue 1 2016, oil on linen, 23 x 24 inches / 58.5 x 61 cm each

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Split Violet Blue 1 / Split Violet Blue 2

2016, oil on linen, 23 x 24 inches / 58.5 x 61 cm each 39

Violet and Violet Blue 1

2016, oil on linen, 23 x 24 inches / 58.5 x 61 cm 42

Red and Violet Blue 2 / Violet and Black 1 2016, oil on linen, 23 x 24 inches / 58.5 x 61 cm

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Violet Blue 1

2016, oil on linen, 33 x 33 inches / 84x 84 cm 44

Violet 1

2016, oil on linen, 36 x 36 inches / 91.5 x 91.5 cm

White Over Violet 3

2016, oil on linen, 50 x 70 inches / 127 x 178 cm 45

White and Violet Blue 2

2016, oil on linen, 40 x 42 inches / 101.5 x 107 cm 46

Guadalajara Red

2016, oil on linen, 55 x 70 inches / 140 x 178 cm 47

RICARDO MAZAL Ricardo Mazal was born in Mexico City in 1950. He has exhibited extensively in galleries and museums throughout the Americas, Asia and Europe, including the Museo Estación Indianilla, Mexico City; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Mexico; Museo Nacional de Anthropología, Mexico City; the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona; the Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe; and the Americas Society, New York. In 2006, a retrospective of his work was held at the Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City and in 2009/10, in the Museo de Arte de Querétaro and the Museo de Arte Abstracto Manuel Felguérez in Zacatecas, Mexico. In 2015 Mazal’s work was included in Frontiers Reimagined, a Collateral Event of the 56th Venice Biennale.

Ricardo Mazal’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona; Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City; Museo de Arte Abstracto Manuel Felguérez, Zacatecas, Mexico; Maeght Foundation, Paris; Centro de las Artes, Monterrey, Mexico; Cirque du Soleil, Montreal; the Peninsula Hotel, Shanghai; and Deutsche Bank, New York and Germany.

Ricardo Mazal divides his time between Santa Fe and New York City.

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SUNDARAM TAGORE GALLERIES new york new york hong kong singapore

547 West 27th Street, New York, NY 10001 • tel 212 677 4520 • gallery@sundaramtagore.com 1100 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10028 • tel 212 288 2889 4/F, 57–59 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong • tel 852 2581 9678 • hongkong@sundaramtagore.com 5 Lock Road 01–05, Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108933 • tel 65 6694 3378 • singapore@sundaramtagore.com

President and curator: Sundaram Tagore Director, New York: Susan McCaffrey Director, Hong Kong: Faina Derman Sales director, Singapore: Melanie Taylor Exhibition coordinator/registrar: Julia Occhiogrosso Designer: Russell Whitehead Editorial support: Kieran Doherty

WWW.SUNDARAMTAGORE.COM Photographs © 2016 Ricardo Mazal Text © 2016 Sundaram Tagore Gallery All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Cover: 4 Los Angeles - Violet, 2016, oil on linen, 83 x 128 inches / 211 x 325 cm