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Lot Essay
In an interview conducted several years ago, Alfredo Castañeda mentions how a reproduction of the Alhambra belonging to his grandfather has haunted him since childhood.(1) The abstract patterns in this Moorish architectural marvel in Granada have provided ample inspiration as well as become the leitmotif that he refers to quite often in his oeuvre; he trained as an architect and later became a painter. Furthermore, he recalls also seeing tiles amidst the ruins of an Augustinian monastery at Acolmán outside Mexico City and in turn, they too have been frequently cited in his paintings as the delicate geometric tracery floating within his compositions such as in this one. Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions interest him and so does the Middle East, which he refers to as, the Orient--the site of origins, myths, holy men, and a place we must return to often--are fertile ground for his imagination. Castañeda however, mines the rich literary legacies of both Eastern and Western civilizations to give meaning to all his enigmatic narratives.
The artist has frequently illustrated vast landscapes as metaphor for man's loneliness and emptiness. The sea however, is the place where all life emerged. Castañeda's narrative in La nave (El arca) (2) ultimately describes a voyage--perhaps, life's journey. The vessel is an apparition dissolving, or just evolving--birth and death. (3) Through his appropriation of recognizable icons--a temple crowned by a dazzling blue dome denoting a sacred space; the labyrinth etched on the bow of the ship that represents a pilgrimage or path to God; a lace cloud of tile patterns softly piercing the sails--a caravel resembling one of the three Spanish vessels that set sail towards the West in search of the East in 1492, floats upon a placid sea heading to safe shores or bound for destinations unknown. It appears to be a floating ghost set adrift the calm sea. All these are complex symbols that confound but tell of at least in part, the compelling dramas that are woven into the fabric of mankind's many histories and his journey through life.
Castañeda's little man, sometimes as alter ego for the artist, is also lightly evidenced in the small stamps or labels painted on the billowing sails; his presence becomes a pattern of persistence and affirmation of the will. These, as Edward J. Sullivan has eloquently noted, construct a "patchwork quilt of reminiscences" that enable the artist to manipulate "the scraps of the past," the bits and pieces of a lifetime. (4) He is at once painter and protagonist in this ephemeral world, which is surreal and baffling. The story has no beginning or ending and is as boundless as the sea. The artist's provocative works evoke the frailty of life. Like the Flemish masters he has long admired, Castañeda relishes the magic of symbols that may unravel the mysteries of existence not at once, but upon contemplation.
(1) C. Bach, 'Alfredo Castañeda: Between Memory and Being,' OAS, Washington, D.C., Americas, 31 October 1999, vol. 51, no. 5, p. 30-39.
(2) La nave (El arca) was first exhibited at ARCO, the international art fair held annually in Madrid, February 1993. The exhibition was titled Los Pasos Comunicantes. (Retablo de Busqueda o Busqueda de Retablo). It was the central panel of an installation of 15 interconnected works entitled Los Pasos Comunicantes. Galería de Arte Mexicano and Mary-Anne Martin/Fine Art organized the exhibition jointly in close collaboration with Castañeda. The artist designed the space, which was conceived to enable the viewer to enter and become surrounded by the paintings that hung to act as one continuous work. Furthermore, each work was accompanied by a poem related to painting. The show later traveled to New York where it was shown at Mary-Anne Martin/Fine Art, May 1993.
(3) Los Pasos Comunicantes symbolized a person's--birth, death and, spiritual redemption, as the artist has explained. For Castañeda La nave (El arca) represents the midpoint in life, where an individual has experienced much that will ultimately impact the second half.
(4) E. J. Sullivan, 'And Dreams are Dreams,' Alfredo Castañeda, Galería de Arte Mexicano, Mexico City, Mary-Anne Martin/Fine Art, New York, 1989, p. 41.
The artist has frequently illustrated vast landscapes as metaphor for man's loneliness and emptiness. The sea however, is the place where all life emerged. Castañeda's narrative in La nave (El arca) (2) ultimately describes a voyage--perhaps, life's journey. The vessel is an apparition dissolving, or just evolving--birth and death. (3) Through his appropriation of recognizable icons--a temple crowned by a dazzling blue dome denoting a sacred space; the labyrinth etched on the bow of the ship that represents a pilgrimage or path to God; a lace cloud of tile patterns softly piercing the sails--a caravel resembling one of the three Spanish vessels that set sail towards the West in search of the East in 1492, floats upon a placid sea heading to safe shores or bound for destinations unknown. It appears to be a floating ghost set adrift the calm sea. All these are complex symbols that confound but tell of at least in part, the compelling dramas that are woven into the fabric of mankind's many histories and his journey through life.
Castañeda's little man, sometimes as alter ego for the artist, is also lightly evidenced in the small stamps or labels painted on the billowing sails; his presence becomes a pattern of persistence and affirmation of the will. These, as Edward J. Sullivan has eloquently noted, construct a "patchwork quilt of reminiscences" that enable the artist to manipulate "the scraps of the past," the bits and pieces of a lifetime. (4) He is at once painter and protagonist in this ephemeral world, which is surreal and baffling. The story has no beginning or ending and is as boundless as the sea. The artist's provocative works evoke the frailty of life. Like the Flemish masters he has long admired, Castañeda relishes the magic of symbols that may unravel the mysteries of existence not at once, but upon contemplation.
(1) C. Bach, 'Alfredo Castañeda: Between Memory and Being,' OAS, Washington, D.C., Americas, 31 October 1999, vol. 51, no. 5, p. 30-39.
(2) La nave (El arca) was first exhibited at ARCO, the international art fair held annually in Madrid, February 1993. The exhibition was titled Los Pasos Comunicantes. (Retablo de Busqueda o Busqueda de Retablo). It was the central panel of an installation of 15 interconnected works entitled Los Pasos Comunicantes. Galería de Arte Mexicano and Mary-Anne Martin/Fine Art organized the exhibition jointly in close collaboration with Castañeda. The artist designed the space, which was conceived to enable the viewer to enter and become surrounded by the paintings that hung to act as one continuous work. Furthermore, each work was accompanied by a poem related to painting. The show later traveled to New York where it was shown at Mary-Anne Martin/Fine Art, May 1993.
(3) Los Pasos Comunicantes symbolized a person's--birth, death and, spiritual redemption, as the artist has explained. For Castañeda La nave (El arca) represents the midpoint in life, where an individual has experienced much that will ultimately impact the second half.
(4) E. J. Sullivan, 'And Dreams are Dreams,' Alfredo Castañeda, Galería de Arte Mexicano, Mexico City, Mary-Anne Martin/Fine Art, New York, 1989, p. 41.