The New Gallery - Thom Andriola - Houston, Texas Contemporary Fine Art

	Juan Andres Videla The Unsaid Word October 25 - November 29, 2008 Opening Reception October 25, 2008 6:00 - 8:00 pm Opening October 25th, New Gallery/Thom Andriola is proud to present “The Unsaid Word” new paintings by Juan Andres Videla, of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Juan, who had his first one man show with New Gallery 18 years ago is returning to Houston after an 8 year absence. One might be tempted to say that these new oils on canvas are all about place and time. Perhaps. Be they specific cityscapes, or silent interiors, in a space that is very, very late or very early, or shrouded in overcast; their commonality is that they appear to be completely filled with emptiness. One might also want to think that these works are all about memory and timelessness. There is a kind of recognition when viewing these paintings; a familiarity that, as if emerging from a dream, the details quickly fade in the light of our waking consciousness. The paintings of Juan Andres Videla have a certain force, a voice that is like a whisper that can be heard from great distance; a physical presence that is nearly invisible, yet glows with a space that expresses a tone of elegy as well as a song of joy, in the discovery of the universe found within the most simple of places, right before our eyes. With the spare palette and humble monumentality apparent in the works of Georgio Morandi, and possessing a quietly implosive brush stroke recalling the restrained conflagrations of Giacometti’s paintings, these are works that powerfully engage the viewer to enter their space, and to breathe. It is the poetry of William Carlos Williams that I am reminded of when viewing these profoundly simple compositions. It is, as Williams has said: “no ideas, but in things.” City avenues glazed with rainwater, dog's eyes glowing in the night, a gray corridor bathed in neon, a cutting from a vine placed in a jar on a sill of faded sunlight, an empty tree lined drive illuminated by street lamp; these are a few of the tableaux that are transformed and enobled in these hushed masterworks of Juan Andres Videla. Thom Andriola Director New Gallery

Opening October 25th, New Gallery/Thom Andriola is proud to present “The Unsaid Word” new paintings by Juan Andres Videla, of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Juan, who had his first one man show with New Gallery 18 years ago is returning to Houston after an 8 year absence.

One might be tempted to say that these new oils on canvas are all about place and time. Perhaps. Be they specific cityscapes, or silent interiors, in a space that is very, very late or very early, or shrouded in overcast; their commonality is that they appear to be completely filled with emptiness.

One might also want to think that these works are all about memory and timelessness. There is a kind of recognition when viewing these paintings; a familiarity that, as if emerging from a dream, the details quickly fade in the light of our waking consciousness.

The paintings of Juan Andres Videla have a certain force, a voice that is like a whisper that can be heard from great distance; a physical presence that is nearly invisible, yet glows with a space that expresses a tone of elegy as well as a song of joy, in the discovery of the universe found within the most simple of places, right before our eyes.

With the spare palette and humble monumentality apparent in the works of Georgio Morandi, and possessing a quietly implosive brush stroke recalling the restrained conflagrations of Giacometti’s paintings, these are works that powerfully engage the viewer to enter their space, and to breathe.

It is the poetry of William Carlos Williams that I am reminded of when viewing these profoundly simple compositions. It is, as Williams has said: “no ideas, but in things.”

City avenues glazed with rainwater, dog's eyes glowing in the night, a gray corridor bathed in neon, a cutting from a vine placed in a jar on a sill of faded sunlight, an empty tree lined drive illuminated by street lamp; these are a few of the tableaux that are transformed and enobled in these hushed masterworks of Juan Andres Videla.

Thom Andriola