RICARDO PÉREZ QUINTERO (Venezuela, 1939).
"Graffiti is not a crime", 2021.
Mixed media on panel.
Presents dry stamp of the author and descriptive label on the back.
Signed and dated in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 60 x 120 x 7.5 cm.
In the words of María Luz Cárdenas, art critic, this work "belongs to the most recent group of works, it combines the stencil sign with a plaque of New York's Fifth Avenue, with metal plates of Pepsi Cola and Texaco on the background of a graffiti of New York's Bronx. They are iconic pieces of urban archaeology, which form part of the collective imaginary and are at the same time collectable elements due to their value and scarcity. He puts the plaques in dialogue with graffiti and contemporary graffiti, producing a contrasting result with many layers of interpretation.
Venezuelan visual artist Ricardo Pérez Quintero's technique is an assemblage medium. During his studies to become an architect and urban designer, he first became involved with art. In his work one can recognise the influence of Cornell, Duchamp, Nevelson, Magritte and the Uruguayan constructivist Joaquín Torres García. This artist is able to bring together, in a single piece, different creative media such as assemblage, sculpture and collage. Rescuing lost objects (ready made) Ricardo Pérez Quintero, like a Tarot alchemist, transforms them into poetic objects and living objectual presences without significant interventions. His attractive and evocative boxes give rise to narrative, metaphorical and metaphysical readings in the viewer. Since Ricardo Pérez Quintero began exhibiting - in group and solo shows - people related to art, architecture, music and journalism have found and recognised the charm, poetics and rigour in his assemblages. Ricardo Pérez Quintero is Venezuelan, born in Caracas. He spent his adolescence in Mexico, where he began studying architecture at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He obtained his degree from the Universidad Central de Venezuela in 1969. In 1973 he obtained a Master's degree in Urban Design from The Victoria University of Manchester, England. He also studied conservation and rehabilitation of historic sites at the Sapienza University of Rome. He has designed and executed Special Urban Renewal Plans for Historic Centres in several cities in Venezuela. In Venezuela he has developed projects and executed sites in the service, residential and hotel areas. He has restored buildings of important heritage value in his home country. At the same time he is dedicated to developing his artistic work in the modality of "boxes", which can be defined as thematic assemblages constructed from the juxtaposition of elements of diverse origin, harmoniously incorporated as symbols and "art objects", which suggest contextualised or specific scenes.