PRESS RELEASE
Margaret Thatcher Projects is pleased to present Cirio Totale, an exhibition of abstract paintings by Omar Chacón, the artist’s sixth solo exhibition at the gallery. The exhibition will open on Thursday, November 9, 2023, and run through Saturday, February 3, 2024.
Omar Chacón’s paintings are distinctive for their vibrant color, high luster and textural quality and his process to achieve such arresting effects is quite methodical. He begins by pouring layers of different color acrylic paint onto an isolated surface. Then, control is relinquished and gravity and chance are allowed to take over, resulting in the welding of contrasting colors which creates a multihued drip effect. The densely layered paint is left to cure overnight only to get dissected, severed into small irregular tiles and eventually get affixed onto canvas. In other words, the familiar becomes fragmented, and reassembled anew.
In Chacón’s work, the emphasis is often placed on materiality. The textural depth adds visual appeal and complexity to his work, inviting viewers to further explore the surface of the canvas. From a distance, the works glisten with an alluring candy-like sheen and a visually stimulating assembly of vivid and subdued hues. Closer observation reveals highly textured surfaces: some covered in multidimensional grids of polychromatic, uniquely patterned tiles, others studded with a constellation of individual droplets. Tiles drift across the surface, while hundreds of drips cascade down as if frozen in time, generating a sense of energy and perpetual motion.
Chacón's meticulous and precise artistic process reflects a sense of order and structure. The deliberate layering, color choices, and surface manipulation all contribute to a well-thought-out composition. This element of order can counterbalance the inherent sense of chaotic amalgamation in his work where colors and textures merge and collide in a dynamic yet harmonious dance. The delicate balance and interplay between order and chaos as well as control and spontaneity in his art can extend into broader philosophical themes. It may be perceived as a reflection of the human experience, where we seek balance and order in the face of the boisterous and unpredictable nature of life.
Omar Chacon was born in Bogota, Colombia. He received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, CA and his BFA from the Ringling College of Art and Design, FL. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in cities such as Los Angeles, Milan, San Franciso and Mexico City. Chacon has participated in exhibitions at the Children’s Museum of the Arts in New York, NY and the Mobile Museum of Art in Mobile, AL. In 2009, Chacon was selected as part of the Queens International Four at the 2009 Biennial at the Queens Museum of Art, New York. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2007 William and Dorothy Yeck Award through the Miami University National Young Painters Competition and the 2008 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship. His paintings have been reviewed in Art & Antiques, Artnet, Art in America and Artweek Magazine, among others.