sidestepthenorm

home

Demián is showing in London this year
e-mail us for more details
The new generation of Oaxacan painters  

Demián Flores Cortés Atlas ABEL Neue Kunst Berlin June 2004

In his second solo show at ABEL the Mexican artist Demián Flores presents paintings and graphics dealing with the Lucha Libre, the Mexican form of wrestling which combines extreme acrobatic skills with a spectacular show. His imagery is a collage of fighting scenes, posters cutouts and graffitis referring to urban pop culture as well to the Mexican folklore.

The masked Lucha fighters slip into roles representing the Good and the Evil, saints and ghosts with bestial or extraterrestrial capabilities. They follow the rural population's tradition to personify the devil, death, politicians and the clergy during festivities. Flores' work reflects the cultural confrontation and the blending of tradition and modernism in todays Mexico. In the Lucha Libre as well as in Demián Flores hybrid works both realities come to an vivid expression.

text courtesy www.abelneuekunst.de