 Brilliant, 2004 puzzle pieces & glue on wood, 48" diameter Al Souza In his current exhibition Al Souza continues to use commercially-made puzzles as his medium to create vibrant works. This new body of work is all within a circular tondo format, which energizes the already dynamic collages of layered puzzles. This group of paintings takes his exploration of the compositional possibilities of puzzles whose subject matter includes kitschy soft-focus flowers, postage stamps, paint cans, space shuttles and watermelons. Up close the work overwhelms the eye with intense detail, but from afar it creates a rich tapestry of color and texture in coherent compositions. Souza's instinctive sense of balance counteracts the chaos produced by the layering of pattern. Using manufactured puzzles instead of paint to create his fanciful compositions has opened up a whole community to Souza that he otherwise would never have encountered. Souza's network of jigsaw enthusiasts who hunt down and piece together puzzles for him crisscrosses the US. These untraditional friends add a hidden social element to the works that is of fundamental interest to Souza in choosing this medium. Souza's work was recently exhibited at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, NC in a one-person exhibition titled "Inverse Warp Field". His work is included in major public collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu; Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla; Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. Exhibition: September 7 - October 2, 2004 Gallery hours: Tue - Sat 10 am - 6 pm Charles Cowles Gallery 537 West 24th Street New York, NY 10011 Telephone +1 212 741-8999 Fax +1 212 741-6222 Email info@cowlesgallery.com www.cowlesgallery.com |
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