PRESS, ARTICLES & WRITINGS BY OTHERS
The Art of Sergio Gomez
by Cecilia González-Andrieu, Ph.D
If at its best A/art is an invitation to relationship, the works of Sergio Gomez are bold and complex provocations to a series of interconnected meetings. Gomez' use of the human figure grounds his work in the depth of human concerns; his art has our shared plight of suffering, of searching, and of triumph at its center. Far from a dualism that posits a separation between body and transcendence, Gomez's artful technique underscores how A/art points to the indissoluble unity of what is matter and what is spirit. In Gomez's work the use of multiple textures, visible seams, dripping paint, vibrant colors and brushstrokes honors corporality, as his evocative figures celebrate personhood and the world in which we dwell. Yet quite seamlessly, Gomez's works also act like modern icons opening windows and doors into the depths of Spirit, where death never has the last word and the sacred beckons.
In his passionate and passion-making art Sergio Gomez tells a community's story, raises a cry of pain, mediates a vision of hope, and points with care and reverence toward that eternal Other whose love the very beauty of these works brings into relationship with a thankful world.
Cecilia González-Andrieu, Ph.D
Art/Religion/Theology/Spirituality
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, CA
The Art of Sergio Gomez
By Ruth Crnkovich
Sated with figurative images, Sergio Gomez’s paintings are imbued with meditations on the multifaceted experiences of human condition and spirituality throughout the cycles of life. The artist unabashedly delves into the essence of humanity and the human condition, daring to use himself as the subject in many of his paintings. The black and white shadowy figures are representative of the flesh and the spirit, with the black images being of this earth whilst the white figures appear to represent transcendence into the higher self, the soul or the spirit. Much of Sergio’s work deals with the subject of man’s search for inner peace and a higher form of consciousness in the face of strife and difficulties associated with the human condition.
Many of Sergio’s figurative paintings begin as drawings of himself with reflective writings scripted directly onto the canvas. These painting are as much about the process as they are about the subject in that they are the result of a meditative exercise. To these drawings, he then intuitively applies layers of color in thin washes that run and drip down the canvas masking the identity of the figure. Deliberate and meandering lines that sometime run off the edges indicate both the visible and invisible boundaries in the physical world. The obscured figure represents all mankind, thereby allowing Sergio’s artistic expression to resonates with our own search for identity, truth, and higher self.
Ruth Crnkovich
Curator / Art Appraiser
CRN Curatorial Resource Network
Review: Celebrarte/Zhou B Art Center
Newcity Art - Chicago
November 2011
"It’s difficult to leave this show without the conviction that this is the most vibrant ethnic art scene in Chicago, not just because artists like Sergio Gomez are creating it, but also because curators like Sergio Gomez are promoting it."
Voyages | Sergio Gomez
Curated by Renee Nordstrom & Luis Sahagun
Solo Exhibition July 6-August 6
"Using the human form as his vehicle, he continues to investigate questions such as What is identity? How do we form it? Who assigns it? He also uses the silhouetted figure to look at concepts of “absence and presence” and “good and evil.” His figures, male, female, sometimes androgynous, always contain an element of mystery. Woven through many of his figurative works, Sergio includes a thin, looping red line, initially appearing at the time of his first child’s birth, and symbolizing a male umbilical cord."
Spanish Interview with Claudia Garcia Diaz
"Portadas de Poblanos de éxito en el mundo"
El Sol de Puebla
Puebla, Mexico
August 2011
Interview with Poets and Artists Magazine
August 2011
Going Solo: 33 Collective Gallery Becomes 33 Contemporary Gallery
Chicago Art Magazine on
May 31, 2011
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Unseen Presence
Krasl Art Center’s two-person exhibit ‘feeds off each other’
Herald Palladium, Michigan
April 2011
VIP Art Fair brings art online, Chicago galleries join movement
Sergio Gomez quoted in this article.
Exhibit to explore man's voyage through life
Northwest Indiana Times
June 12, 2011
CHICAGO HEIGHTS | Union Street Gallery presents "Voyages," a one-man exhibit of drawings and paintings by Sergio Gomez. The exhibit will run from July 6 through Aug. 6. The opening reception takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. July 8. The opening will feature live music and a demonstration by Gomez.
An artist whose work is shown throughout the Midwest, Gomez's powerful and mysterious paintings record everyman's voyage through life as well as his own very personal journey as a Mexican-American. An art educator at South Suburban College, and owner of 33 Contemporary Gallery in Chicago, he immigrated to America in 1988, and began his decades-long search for his own identity in his new country.
Using the human form as his vehicle, he continues to investigate questions such as What is identity? How do we form it? Who assigns it? He also uses the silhouetted figure to look at concepts of "absence and presence" and "good and evil." His figures, male, female, sometimes androgynous, always contain an element of mystery. Woven through many of his figurative works, Gomez includes a thin, looping red line, initially appearing at the time of his first child's birth, and symbolizing a male umbilical cord.
Going Solo: 33 Collective Gallery becomes 33 Contemporary Gallery
Chicago Art Magazine
May 31, 2011
33 Collective Gallery started seven years ago when the Zhou B Art Center first opened its doors on a cold December night, 2004. 33CG was the first gallery in the space and among three other artists to join the center. 33 Collective Gallery was registered as a partnership under Javier Chavira, Carla Carr, Kimberly Harmon and Sergio Gomez. The Zhou B Art Center was just a big empty warehouse space with nothing but concrete walls and columns. The Zhou Brothers told the 33CG about the future plans for the building and the group embraced the Zhou Brothers’ vision from day one.
33CG started on the third floor with the idea of sharing studio and gallery space. Eventually the gallery took over the space and the group all moved their studios elsewhere. Four years later, they moved the gallery to the first floor in a small space solely dedicated to exhibitions. The collective started by showing Chavira, Carr, Harmon and Gomez’s work and the people they knew from art school and the community. They started the Third Friday openings that now have become a well-attended event at the Zhou B Art Center. As more people started to come, 33CG soon started to attract artists who were looking for exhibition opportunities. They then organized a membership of artists to work with on a regular basis. A few years later, 33CG had a strong group of artists who were committed to their work and to the gallery. Since December 2004, 33 Collective Gallery has organized a new exhibition just about every month.
Stretching the limits of fine art with works on paper at Tall Grass Arts Association
Chicago Fine Arts Examiner
Jessica Kronika
May 2010
"Utilizing his signature ambiguity, Gomez brings us the fertile green of spring, a suggestion of its summer to come. The layers and silhouettes of his figures and the rare instance of stenciled forms come together at the warm heart of this work in acrylic on paper. The cool blues and rich greens of this work play with the eye. By its sheer size, nearly life size, these paper works mounted on canvas draw comparison and involvement, while the anonymity of the figures allows for speculation on identity."
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Through the Labyrinth: Judithe Hernandez and Sergio Gomez
Curatorial Statement by Joyce Owens Anderson
Chicago State University
November 2009
"The value these two artists would bring to our students, and the CSU community, included exposure to aspects of the artists’ particular art practice, first person anecdotes about artist activism, American history, and the psychological impact art works can impart. Viewers engaging in the works and the history of the artists learn more about human migrations and about Latino culture and politics."
Calmness. Solo Exhibition at 33 Contemporary Gallery
Essay by Lindsey Gargas
January 2009
"Gomez embraces ambiguity and impersonality, as, for him, it is not the physical features that identify who people are. For him, People are identified by their emotions, their feelings, and their experiences. Through Gomez’s works, it is personal concern to establish a visual dialogue with his identity."
Portrait of the Artist: Sergio Gomez and 33 Contemporary Gallery
Newcity Art Review
January 2009
"The imagery in Sergio Gomez’s new mixed-media works—figures both
concentrated and expanded in form—mirrors the artist’s own multifaceted
roles."
Trials and Transformations: Sergio Gomez finds calmness in the face of life’s chaos
Written by: Candice Ralph
The Chicago Weekly
February 2009
"One recurring theme in Gomez’s work is transformation. He evokes this idea by using different human forms such as children, men, and women, and by incorporating butterflies in many of his works. Just as a butterfly emerges from a chrysalis, his works hint transformation and rebirth will always come. To Gomez, the butterfly is a symbol of harmony, fragility, and life—delicate and malleable."