What is really going on behind closed doors in the multitude of artists studios throughout Massachusetts? To find out, we thought we’d ask artists to let us peek inside their studios, and tell us what they’re up to these days.
The first to answer the call was Boston-based artist Santiago Hernandez (Painting Fellow ’02):
Stripes, Flame Jobs and Sacred Geometry
My work has always dealt in different ways with the dialectical relationship between order and chaos, the sacred and the profane. With this new body of work I want to touch upon the possibilities of this intricate relationship from a personal point of view while making use of elements – camouflage patterns, flames, hazard stripes, etc. – taken from popular culture or from my immediate surroundings.
Much of my work has been informed by my family’s experience as Cuban immigrants, a chaotic experience at best. However, for me as a child that experience was really about discovery. In my new work I use the flames and hazard stripes to express my belief that while the immigrant experience is characterized by disruption and a sense of loss, it is also about transcending barriers, testing faith and forging new realities.
In some of my new work I incorporate geometric elements based on the Golden Mean to reflect the idea that sacred geometry and flame jobs might actually be quite similar in that they symbolize a transcendence of the commonplace; they symbolize, in effect, a form of redemption.
All images courtesy of Santiago Hernandez.
Do you have jpeg images of your studio work-in-progess you’d like to share? Let us know.
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