PAINTINGS

PHOTOGRAPHY

DYNAMIC MIRROR

When our eyes encounter the world, we collect visual evidence that our brain ultimately resolves—by way of recognition and re-creation—into an image. Through a process heavily dependent on statistical inference, we collate this data into identifiable forms, and we call these collected forms our universe. 

In “Dynamic Mirror” I interrupt this process of endless cognitive matchmaking by introducing forms that do not immediately reflect known quantities. The digital images displace rational environments and make our eyes “think,” creating optical landscapes where identifiable signatures of architecture and nature are repeated until they collapse into a space of uncertainty. In this new realm, these signatures no longer perform the task of representation, and instead create an optical bridge between known and unknown. In Dynamic Radial Symmetry 2019 Zurich #06, what might first appear to be a vaulted ceiling eventually dissolves, defying categorization in favor of nuanced pattern and visual freedom. To emphasize the pure expressive virtue of symmetry, I compose works from this series in perfect spheres, bringing to mind Mandala forms that encourage the mind to disentangle itself from the limits of its material environment.

My practice is deeply influenced by the Venezuelan Op Art movement of the 20thcentury. I have studied with Carlos Cruz-Diez and Jesús Rafael Soto—integral pioneers of Op Art—in Caracas, and my work presents a contemporary mirror reflection of the efforts of these earlier pioneers. My process of digitally repeating one element from a single photograph indefinitely to create each piece also is inspired by the work of other innovators, including animal locomotion photographer Eadweard Muybridge and Marcel Duchamp, whose Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 introduced the notion of repetitive gesture as an aesthetic purpose unto itself. I take these experimentations even further, eventually questioning the idea of landscape art as it relates to the contemporary image. In the work, identifiable elements of monuments in Zurich emerge into what seems to be an epic expanse of sky, and are reflected into an equally endless stretch of calm sea. The sea and sky are illusory, however. Like an infinite prism refracting the universe, I dismantle our fathomable world in favor of an enchanted unknown. 

ARTIST BIO

PEDRO BLAS

I was born in Caracas, Venezuela and now live and work between Barcelona, Spain and Zurich, Switzerland. In 1993, I graduated from the School of Design in Caracas and have continuously developed my passion for painting, design, and photography ever since.

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Artists who inspire me: Carlos Cruz-Diez, Victor Vasarely, Bridget Riley, Jesus Rafael Soto, Yvaral, Eadweard Muybridge, Marcel Duchamp, Max Bill, George Rickey, M.C. Escher