Avenue 50 Studio in Highland Park proudly presents new work by Leigh Salgado and Abel Alejandre, two Los Angeles artists who share devotion of their respective medium and attention to exquisite detail. Alejandre’s carefully woven layers of graphite cross-hatching on paper compliment Salgado’s stunning hand-cut paper sculptures. The trance-like quality of their art, combined with their dedication to process and ritualistic patterns, bridge the mediums of each artist’s work to create a unified and powerful statement.
Leigh Salgado’s artwork depicts the experience of femaleness as an eruption of raw texture and delicate gouging passion. Her recent work alludes to feelings or essences of feminine archetypes from her memories and subconscious. References to the female body, the wrappings of femininity, female eroticism and empowerment inform the art. Pushing the bounds of traditional objectification is the constant throughout her work. Her depictions of net stocking, abstracted lingerie and patterned bodies are sensual meditations on casual yet essential experiences, poetic beyond the verbal, physical beyond the body.
In his work Abel Alejandre examines and redefines interpersonal relationships within the context of the immigrant experience. Themes and nuances of love, passion and lust are woven like delicate, precious threads through the graphite line work that is heavily influenced by the old world masters, yet very much Alejandre's own. On the one hand, the body of work acts as a reflective personal journal, cataloging past insecurities, insults, and painful memories. Each piece carries the weight and depth of an oversized blanket, at once comforting and yet nearly suffocating at the same time. It is, at the same time, an optimistic roadmap that depicts the struggle for salvation against hatred and betrayal and ultimately, redemption. Alejandre’s graceful and haunting work is unapologetic in its honesty.
November 10 through December 2, 2007
Avenue 50 Studio, Inc. a 501(c)(3) non-profit art gallery
131 N. Avenue 50, Highland Park, CA 90042
