Del mito, el rapto “Of the myth, the abduction”- A Solo Exhibition by Abel Massot
Opening Reception
Saturday, November 18th 2023
4:00pm to 8:00pm
1400 Union Avenue
Kansas City, MO 64101
Gallery Bogart is pleased to present Del Mito, el Rapto “Of the myth, The abduction” an Abel Massot Solo Exhibition, as the artist’s third exhibit with the gallery. Abel Massot lives and works in Havana, Cuba and is an award-winning contemporary artist.
Abel Massot’s newest series “Del mito, el rapto” (Of the myth, The abduction) indicates a marked shift for the artist from his distinctive techniques and exhibits a new elevated coalescence of his explorations from the last decade. Massot is recognized for his expressionist, stark, and immersive paintings of faces and stripped away forms of the body. This is still evident in this new series, however, now lines become less exacting, overlapping, and urgent, creating chaotic movement and depth. These progressions result in Massot’s figurative dialogue being further developed, no longer static and internal, but outward and demanding. Through these depictions he continues to invoke introspection of the human experience and examines themes inherent in humanity through revisiting classical and Greek abduction myths.
Artist’s Statement
Throughout the history of art, numerous artists have reproduced famous scenes from Greek myths through their paintings, engravings, drawings, or sculptures.
“Of the Myth, the Abduction” is a series of mythological paintings that stem from my artistic inspiration drawn from literature. The incredible sensuality of the figures, the power of literary imagery, and the dynamism of action in storytelling are elements present in all myths that I find in perfect harmony with my work. In it, an apparent formal disorder, the contrast of textures, gesture, and bright colors harmonize and are accentuated by the use of strong and precise lines.
The episodes provided by the texts of the abductions have driven this exploration, leading me to create several acrylic and charcoal paintings on canvas and various drawings as studies of the work in the creative process. I embrace a new approach with a free interpretation and creative freedom. It’s worth mentioning that the works of Cuban artists such as “The Abduction of the Mulattos” by Carlos Enríquez and “The Abduction of Deianira by the Centaur Nessus” by Miguel Melero, as well as “The Abduction of Europa” by Valentin Serov and “The Abduction of the Daughters of Leucippus” by Rubens, have served as references.
In this series, I incorporate a new element, which is the expressive use of the line. I have worked on the vividness of color and the overlapping of images. The treatment of brushwork and the palette knife accentuate my style and manner of creation. As in many of my previous works, women represent a highly eroticized figure, but in this series, I start from literary texts as the guiding thread, the essential axis in the development of my work, and I incorporate the use of icons and symbolic elements that contribute to a visual discourse of connection between pictorial work and myth.
In this way, I have sought to represent conflicts inherent to human beings, such as the opposition between man and woman, love and sex, beauty and age, violence and fear, marriage and society—binary elements that are constantly renewed and persist in the current human condition while transcending beyond myths.
-Abel Massot