Kalashnikov Orb: Nail Rain Series

Utilizing geometric abstraction the artist cast a cynical eye on the current wave of fundamentalism we are witness to in the twenty-first century. Playfully, he strategically places iconic imagery in unexpected places, in shadows or pixilated on the tips of cylinders. Specifically, in "Kalashnikov Orb" the viewer will find the iconic figure of Christ lying in repose with his feet projected toward the viewer on the cylinder heads. Here the artist incorporates the same foreshortening of Christ’s figure depicted in Mantegna’s famous masterwork (The Lamentation over the Dead Christ). Upon closer examination one finds a Kalashnikov rifle symbolic of Middle Eastern violence. It lay covertly on the lower half of the orb in the shadows of the poles. In the lower left corner one finds in the shadow of the orb a subtle image of a monk praying. Placed before the monk is the shadow in the shape of a cross on a hill which is formed by the geometric forms floating above. As in other paintings, the foreground holds symbolic nails which in this piece represent dual meanings. Here they serve as a reminder of life’s dangers and hardships and to the suffering of Christ. Their suspension adds to the surealism of the work.

The Burghers of Calais From Above

This painting is based upon a famous sculpture by Rodin. This bronze is on display at the Metropolitan and is one of Rodin’s landmark pieces. It was commissioned to memorialize the tragic tale of the city of Calais which was overtaken by King Edward III. The city elders of Calais offered themselves up as sacrifice to the king’s troops to preclude the slaughter of the town’s women and children. The statue seems a fitting condemnation of imperialism in all its manifestations. The artist has painted the sculpture from above providing a unique perspective and is retelling the story as if it were an ominous warning.

Severed Voting Fingers Cast a Shadow over Doubt

Utilizing symbol and shadow the artist alludes to one potential outcome of the Iraq war. The purple tipped fingers are a clear reference to Iraqi voting practices yet, in this piece the woman dressed in a black burka is using a pair of scissors to auto-amputate her own finger, implying that the Iraqi people are responsible for their own chances for implementing a democracy. Again, the artist employs the technique of placing floating objects (severed fingers) in a gravity-less world. He is also hiding loaded iconic imagery within shadows. The floating fingers cast a shadow on the blood red floor. In these shadows the viewer will find the dead body of a U.S. service man along with his rifle and helmet.

Call Me Horse For Now

Throughout the artist career he has substituted a horse for himself in many of his works. This ploy is reminiscent of many paintings whereby Picasso substituted a bull as his alter-ego. Centrally located, standing tall upon his hind legs the horse towers over the human figures below. Notably, the artist again uses the perspective of painting figures from above as if the viewer were looking from the vantage point of the seeing eye of God. This approach, used over and over again is one of the hallmarks of many of Marquez’s works. The horse stands erect as a feverish mob acts out the narrative below. The artist utilizes four milestones from twentieth century painting, portraying a scene of chaos where the figures appear to be cutting and tearing up the paintings.

Jerry Saltz's recent essay in the Village Voice “Seeing Dollar Signs,-is the art market making us stupid?” is cogent to the narrative of this particular painting. Saltz writes, “To some, the art market is a self-help movement, a private consumer vortex of dreams, a cash-addled image-addicted drug that makes consumers prowl art capitals for the next paradigm shift. This set seeks out art that looks like things they already know: anything resembling Warhol, Richter, Koons, Tuymans, Prince, and Wool could be good; any male painter in his thirties could be great.”

Enlisting this premise the artist parodies the contemporary art world illuminati and in so doing suggests a paradox. Explicitly this self referential narrative conveys a sense of fatigue and frustration which is palpable on the part of this artist as is surely representative of most living artists working today, yet the central figure’s posture and placement would suggest the subtle nuance of hope. The artist recalls a quote by Tom Wolfe, “The notion that the public accepts or rejects anything in modern art …is merely Romantic fiction….The game is completed and the trophies distributed long before the public knows what has happened.”

TRUMAN MARQUEZ RESUME

EDUCATION: 1981 BS., Georgetown College, Georgetown,KY1983 MS.,Louisville, KY

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

New Art Center, ConTemplate: New York, NY Nov. 1-25, 2006

El Taller Gallery, Austin, TX Oct. 1-26, 2006

Infusion Gallery, Los Angeles, CA May-June 2005

Fairmount Gallery, Dallas, TX 2004

Houston College, Central Campus, Houston TX / “A BUMPY RIDE” 2003

Ann Wright Wilson Center for the Arts, Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

MIWAA ,New York, NY, Oct. 3-27 (Currated by Dominique Nahas, Former Director Neuberger Museum), Sunny Purchase, NY 2005

Span Art Gallery Invitational, Tokyo, Japan, 2001

Japanese International Exhibition, Museum of Modern art, Saitama, Japan 1999

SAI Gallery, Budapest, Hungary 1997

Museo de la Ciudad, International Group Exhibition, Madrid, Spain 1988

Salon des Artistes, New York, NY 1987

Salon des Artistes, New York, NY 1986

Salon des Artistes, New York, NY

MUSEUMS

FLINT INSTITUTE OF ART, Flint, MI, http://www.flintarts.org/ “Immpardronirsi Immortaliata”
oil on canvas 120 in. x 96 in. Acquired for permanent collection of the museum 10/2006

PUBLICATION

http://www.interviews.com/ Intro: Marisa Damel, Mauricio Saravia Interviews Truman Marquez

© Artist Interviews 7/2002 International Ecomomy, Helmut Schroder,German Finance Minister - Cover Story. “Immpadronirsi Immortaliata” 120 in. x 96 in. pg.26, 9/1/1999

CORPORATE COLLECTIONS

Chelsea Hotel, west 23rd. St. New York, NY “Yellow Violin” oil canvas 72” x 72”

Capitol Surgeons Group, Central Headquarters Austin, Texas