Circus
“Circus” is the third solo show of Juan Rojo at Jay Etkin Gallery. In his new body of work Rojo pushes the baroque quality of his previous paintings to attain an horror vacui, ubiquitous now in most of his pieces. Originally this body of work was motivated by the images of migrants from the caravans that tried to arrive two years ago to the USA. Rojo was interested in this humanitarian crisis and its visual connections with the Saltimbanques, circus and people with nomadic lives painted by Picasso at the beginning of the 20th century. The circus theme took over Rojo’s artistic practice which evolved to be an explosion of color and visual stimulus closer to an Instagram filter than to the old master’s paintings from where Rojo draws most of his inspirations, lighting and poses for his work.
This mix of high and low art creates a tension throughout this body of work that is reflected in the other reason behind the title: “Circus” also refers to the Bridney Spears song that has sounded continuously at the studio while Rojo was trying to channel renaissance and baroque painters. Rojo thrives in creating frictions and conflict within the form and content of his paintings, which create more questions than answers, and it draws the spectator into the formal qualities of the work, the ultimate goal of the artist.
This mix of high and low art creates a tension throughout this body of work that is reflected in the other reason behind the title: “Circus” also refers to the Bridney Spears song that has sounded continuously at the studio while Rojo was trying to channel renaissance and baroque painters. Rojo thrives in creating frictions and conflict within the form and content of his paintings, which create more questions than answers, and it draws the spectator into the formal qualities of the work, the ultimate goal of the artist.
