In the Press

From November 10 through December 10, 2011, Perez will be living and working at Lux as he creates a large-scale triptych, the inspiration for which will come from proximity to the Pacific Ocean, as well as his anticipated experiences surfing some of San Diego’s most distinct breaks. Visitors can “see art happen” while he is in studio and view his show, featuring examples of his painting, through December 31, 2011.

Vibrant, textured and bursting with a calculated chaos, Perez’s dynamic works also evince sculpture. The artist's unique process entails painting sheets of enamel, latex and acrylic in different hues onto wood panels and then, using an x-acto blade, slicing away at and removing layers, revealing tracts of muted colors underneath. The canvases juxtapose freeform movement with labor-intensive, measured actions, simultaneously evoking upheaval and harmony, spontaneity and control. Dizzying, vertiginous patterns, roiling swirls, undulating lines and tornado-like vortices are interwoven with short, staccato breaks. They build up and collide into one another with a force that creates a physical and psychological phenomenon wherein the eye attempts to fill in for what is not actually there.

Whether visually read as physical movement, brain activity or emotional shifts, Perez's works--influenced by graphic novels, pop art, music, woodcuts, and the Baroque--exhibit an undeniable magnetism. His ambiguously playful titles—“doin the sleepwalk,” “drowning on dry land,” “fishing while you dream”-- shroud the works in mystery and provide no real interpretive clues, further allowing viewers to choose their own adventures.

“We enthusiastically anticipate the installation of the 18-foot-long triptych panels of Emilio Perez,” says Lux Director Reesey Shaw. “Once here, he will begin his meticulous carving process which exposes layers of hues buried beneath the surface. The gesture and swirl of the carved strokes are influenced by the artist’s encounters with the ocean while surfing—subject matter that we embrace here at Lux, a stone’s throw from the Pacific coastline.”