Review of "Orro Taparrabos"

Review of "Orro Taparrabos"
By Gabriel Treviño

Local artist Mauricio Saenz’s new art exhibit of painting, instillation and video at the Galeria Albertina is in my opinion one of the most well if not cleverly thought out exhibitions yet to hit the local art scene.

As you walk into the gallery, a golden dress installation appears to rush across the room as almost to greet you through a hovering empty frame. The dress is long and hides underneath a tragic display in its shadow. As you walk around the long golden dress you are able to see that the dress is rushing away from two child mannequins, a roasted pig head on a plate and a television tuned to static. Perhaps by the time the dilemma sinks into your thoughts you have witnessed or somehow been part of an act.

A series of oil paintings and fabric collage works hang throughout the walls of the gallery. The works are not only united by the same media but by its strong subject matter and social message. In my opinion viewing the series of paintings is almost like reading a book and every painting is a different page. Most of the paintings depict nude bodies and pig faces slightly and comfortably covered by luxurious fabrics. One of the paintings displays a pig face painter and a chanting message that reads out, “I am Gabriel Orozco, I am Basquiat, I am Eduardo Ibarra, I am...”, as if that painter is pretending to be under the influence of gold represented by the fabric that surrounds him thus enabling him to hide his true identity.

Saenz’s video presentation is not a traditional movie but simple footage of a woman in a Victorian dress and white wig in conflict with a mannequin over the attention of a television that is tuned to static. Overlapping her act is the image and sounds of Hitler during a speech. In my opinion the footage is almost a message of how people are easily distracted and brainwashed to listen, a message to the viewer of how he or she is ironically watching a dummy watching static.

In my opinion Mauricio Saenz has truly brought forth a new level of art exhibition to our local art scene perhaps one of the only exhibits that breaks away from the standard practice of easel painting. His innovative way of thinking of what art is and how it can be displayed may truly liberate us more.

I encourage everyone to visit the Galeria Albertina in Matamoros to view this innovative exhibit by Mauricio Saenz