ISAAC PELAYO - THE NEW RENAISSANCE

 

Isaac Pelayo is a young Los Angeles artist whose work dissects and deconstructs the classical art masters.  Having recently returned from a trip to Europe to see many of the masters’ work in person, Pelayo demonstrates a clear understanding and appreciation of traditional techniques.  Pelayo’s first solo exhibition, “The New Renaissance” opened Sep 17, 2022, and is on view at Naked Eye Studio near University Park and Exhibition Park, LA.  The large, naturally lit, clean gallery space compliments the artwork perfectly, allowing for a totally immersive experience. Golden Baroque frames adorn each work, giving a consistent, cohesive voice and vision throughout the enitre show.  The defaced plaster sculptures supplement the painted works and strengthen the space as a whole.

The paintings themselves largely consist of meticulously copied, famous masters’ works in various states of completion, each vandalized with bold contemporary street graffiti.
Select works are presented in a state of incompletion, inviting the viewer to see these art objects as more than just finished images. The art presents the state of change and progress, as well as transition. The portrait situated on an easel in the first gallery also welcomes a line of thought as to the creation and creator of the works.

For their age, Pelayo is quite well seasoned - able to replicate the traditions of history’s best masters.  Pelayo’s work shows a careful and detailed appreciation for the works of old masters, such as Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Leonardo, while also deconstructing them.  A conversation between the past and preset: old and new, is curated not only across the whole collection, but within each work individually.  The styles and techniques of the past are brought into a direct collision with the vocabulary of the new art world.  Velázquez and Basquiat are allowed a quiet conversation in one corner, while Leonardo and ALEC argue in another.  The ornate and finished oil paintings shine with the spirit of the champions of the old art world while seamlessly blending simplistic street art vocabulary that directly contrast the past and current techniques and language of art.  The works present each historic piece in a new dualistic light.

Many old world paintings are thought of as privately collected objects to be viewed by the few and elite.  Contrastingly, contemporary street art is public, often unpurchasable and able to be viewed by all.  However, a surprising number of old European works were public to some degree.  Botticelli’s graceful paintings were paraded through Italian streets, almost like a Macy’s float. Renaissance and Baroque artists, from Caravaggio to Carracci exhibited their holy images in churches for the public to visit and worship under.  Over time, the context, patrons, and venues of the art world have progressed, as well as the language used by artists.  The symbols, mediums and messages have progressed as well and Pelayo presents a perfectly crafted dialogue of past and present-  a duet across time.

Isaac Pelayo’s work asks us to look back while simultaneously looking forward.  Icons of the past are repainted with a post-modern view that is distinctly LA.  “The New Renaissance” is open currently.  Make sure to follow Isaac Pelayo on Instagram at @isaacpelayo and as always, stay tuned to Sharks Eat Meat for all your contemporary art news and media.

https://www.isaacpelayo.com/