Showing posts with label Latin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Latin. Show all posts

Thursday, October 6, 2016

How Surreal is This?? Gascot at the Dali

Photo credit: Linda Costa Photography

St. Petersburg, FLA, 10/6/2016– On Wednesday, December 7, 2016, The Dalí Museum’s Zodiac Membership Committee will exhibit Latin Pop artist John Gascot as one of the 12 featured artists in its “The 12 Days of Dalí” event, taking place at the Museum from 6-8:30pm.
This annual event invites members of The Dalí to meet with and view work by local artists and artisans. Each of the 12 Zodiac committee members has selected an artist to showcase. The Museum Store will also be open and offering members a special 25% discount on Store merchandise. Tickets for the event are $15 and available to Dalí Museum members & their guests on TheDali.org.
The Zodiac Membership Committee is an all-volunteer group that supports the mission of The Dalí Museum by building meaningful relationships with members, fostering new interest in the membership program, and helping to strengthen ties between the Museum, its members and the arts community. The original Zodiac Group was created in France in 1932 and consisted of 12 patrons who each sponsored Salvador Dalí for one month of the year. In exchange, patrons received a work of Dalí’s produced during that same month. In the spirit of these forward-thinking patrons, The Dalí’s Zodiac Membership Committee was formed in 1996.
On the evening of the event, Gascot will unveil 6 new works before Dalí Museum members and their guests. The works, executed in his bold and colorful signature Latin Pop style, will range in size and narrative. Taking on subjects both reflective and current, he aims to inspire positive and spirited conversation with and among attendees. “I hope my pieces will take the viewer on a mini-journey of my artistic progression. Thematically I plan on reaching back into the past, touching on something of the moment and looking forward into the future.” The artist says. “I also will take this prestigious opportunity to challenge myself by sharing evolution of style through the materials used in at least one of the new works. As artists we should be ever evolving and I welcome the chance to share a glimpse into mine with The Dalí’s audience.”
About John Gascot:
Latin American/Caribbean artist John Gascot spent the first 12 years of his life in Puerto Rico, a fact to which he attributes his love of bold color. While he creates in a variety of styles, including Painterly and Geometric Abstractions, Latin Pop paintings are his signature. He affectionately coined the style Latin Pop after years of unsuccessful attempts at categorizing the work as one genre or another. The series combines elements of Pop, Cubism and Folk and is often flavored with a Latin/Global sensibility.

John’s Latin Pop paintings combine various global influences in contemporary narratives, blurring cultural lines which divide us. He strives to create art that is accessible and promotes diversity while simultaneously celebrating and challenging social and gender roles dictated by various cultures. His work is in various collections across the US and Europe. 

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Faith

Faith, acrylic on canvas, 12" x 16".
Available from Latin Pop Shop.

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

El Velorio de Doña Mary

A "velorio" is a wake. In Puerto Rico (as in many Latin cultures) the body of the deceased is often laid out for viewing at home. Neighbors, friends and family gather to pay their respects or say last goodbyes. There is always food and often music. Crying, singing and laughter are all sounds heard at a velorio.
I remember going to my first one at around 5 years of age. Doña Mary (Mrs./Ms. Mary) lived two houses away from us. She was heavy-set and dark skinned with wiry wild hair. She was loud. Her voice, no matter how sweet her words, always sounded chastising. As a child, I was afraid of her. But my mother was not. My mother befriended Doña Mary and while neighbors steered clear of her she was often at our house. I can close my eyes and imagine myself looking out our front door and seeing the backs of Mom and Mary swinging on porch rocking chairs and chatting away over a strong cup of cafe negro.
Doña Mary's son lived with her. He was greasy and lazy...and abusive. I don't know whether she had other children or where they might have been but one day my mother received a phone call from, of all places, the morgue. Her number had been found as emergency contact in Doña Mary's wallet. She had been struck and dragged by a bus less than a mile from our homes and my mother was called down to identify her body. Not long after, we had to go pick up her belongings (or perhaps someone took up a collection, it was so long ago and I so young) from her place of work. She was a cafeteria lady at an elementary school. Much to my mother's surprise all of Mary's co-workers knew who she and I were when we arrived. She spoke to them about us as if we were her daughter and grandchild.

The imagery in this painting romanticizes her wake just a bit. Her house was drab and there were perhaps less flowers or ceremony. Unshakable, for some reason is the memory of mosquito netting draping over her casket to keep bugs at bay during what was probably a nearly-summer month. Unforgettable also is the fact that at the time Mom was unemployed and we did not have much money so we could not afford flowers from the florist. A Peace Lily plant (given to her by Doña Mary) had just come into bloom. Those were the flowers we took to the wake.

El Velorio de Dona Mary, acrylic and ink on canvas, 30" x 40". available

Friday, February 19, 2016

Just a Trim

Just a Trim, acrylic on canvas, 12'" x 24"
SOLD


Thursday, February 18, 2016

Among Friends

Not to imply that I might be ADD, but my creative process usually involves working on at least 3 pieces simultaneously. While exploring word art for my #ExposingStupid series and creating hair-themed works for my upcoming show Hair, I have also continued to paint in my signature Latin Pop style. Here is the latest, which I finished just last week.

Among Friends, acrylic on canvas, 18" x 18"
Available from Latin Pop Shop

Thursday, January 14, 2016

They Visit

Sometimes I wake up from a dream expecting my mother to be asleep in the next room. The feeling is fleeting and usually followed by a brief sadness, like the period at the end of a sentence. Sometimes I wake up to complete clarity, well aware that she is no longer with us and that she hasn't been since New Year's Eve 1999.
On occasion, when I wake up from a dream in which she looked ill, the feeling that accompanies the realization that she is no longer living is relief. It is a strange thing, feeling relieved that a loved one is no longer within reach. That you will never again feel the safety of their embrace or hear their voice call out your name.
In most dreams, she is vibrant and healthy and beautiful.  She is at her prime. These are the dreams that fool with your sense of time. They're the ones you try to fall back into, but never can.
I'd like to think that she visits me. I know how that sounds, especially from someone who rejects most aspects of religion and other-worldliness. Maybe is her energy. Maybe it's self preservation and good old wishful thinking, but I can't seem to shake the feeling that when loved ones depart, they aren't forever gone. They visit.

They Visit, acrylic on canvas, 18" x 18"

Friday, October 23, 2015

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Day of the Dead Couple Prints

Giclee prints of Muerta Linda and Muerto Guapo are now available for purchase.
Each comes in a variety of sizes from 10" x 5" to 32" x 16". 
Order yours through Latin Pop Shop on Etsy.



Thursday, September 24, 2015

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Sugar Skulls


These babies are seasonal and limited. If you are interested in these as holiday gifts it would be a good idea to put in your orders now as they may not be around after October. 
Order here. 

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Margarita DeMayo

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage...

Margarita DeMayo, acrylic and markers on canvas, 11" x 14"

Monday, April 13, 2015

Pescadora

Pescadora, acrylic and marker on canvas, 16" x 20", available through Latin Pop Shop

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Friday, March 6, 2015

Latin Pop Shop Mobile Gallery

It has been my dream for a long long time to open an artful establishment that brings affordable art to the public. My dream of opening Latin Pop Shop as an art "retail" space that also gives back to its community has been put on hold in years past due to lack of start up funds and many personal changes and growth. I am now settled in my dream community and am ready to take my dream to the next level. 



While today might not be the day to launch Latin Pop Shop as a brick and mortar, I can bring it to the public as a mobile gallery. Saint Petersburg is not only an arts destination, it is abundant with outdoor markets and festivals. Why not continue to work from my home studio and run Latin Pop Shop at various locations? I have already been accepted to one ongoing market and more applications have been submitted. I will soon  be able to have regular "store hours" at various locations.

I believe in giving back to the community and I do so through my art in a variety of ways. I donate works to various charitable organizations and have collaborately created art installations that raised funds for and helped feed the needy, but my favorite contribution to the community comes in the form of hands-on volunteer workshops that help unlock creativity in children for whom art and art-making might not be accessible as well as children with special needs, such as autism.  I also enjoy painting in public spaces to engage with the community. I have recently applied to a program that creates public works of art for all to enjoy and be inspired and uplifted by.

So while this might be a bit long-winded, it might give you an idea of who I am and what my artistic and personal goals and dreams are. I'm a simple guy, who loves to create and help others through creativity. I of course have to sell my work in order to keep my goals on track and have the means to donate my time and art to the community. 

I am ready to take that next step by bringing Latin Pop Shop to the public. I am almost there! With your help I can make this goal a reality. 

All funds raised will be used  SOLELY in the obtaining of items I still need to launch such as: a festival tent with walls, grid walls from which to hang the art, display racks to hold cards and small paintings, a medium print bin, lighting for evening art walks, business banner... I have already acquired the rest of items such as tables, easels, and other retail incidentals. 

Now, let me tell you about some art goodies I would like to thank those who support my efforts with. Each and every donation, small or big is greatly appreciated. The listed donation amounts will receive the following:

$10 -$24 donation- Original mini abstract art magnet.

$25-$49 donation- Original mini abstract art magnet and a 5" x 7" linocut block print.

$50-$99 donation- Original mini abstract art magnet, a 5" x 7" linocut block print and a 5" x 7" painting.

$100-$199 donation- Original mini abstract art magnet, a 5" x 7" original linocut block print and an original 8" x 10" painting.

$200-$299 donation- Original mini abstract art magnet, a 5" x 7" original linocut block print and an original 11" x 14" painting.

$300-$499 donation- Original mini abstract art magnet, a 5" x 7" original linocut block print and an original 16" x 20" painting.

$500 or more donation- Original mini abstract art magnet, a 5" x 7" original linocut block print and an original 18" x 24" CUSTOM painting (you pick the theme and colors!)

All items are original one of a kind, signed (and numbered, if applicable). If you wish to support my efforts please do so by donating through this page: 

http://www.gofundme.com/latinpopshop

Thank you and remember

ART IS FOR EVERYBODY!

John

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Monday, February 23, 2015

Friday, February 20, 2015

Little Frida on Orange

Little Frida on Orange, acrylic on canvas, 8" x 10"
This painting is available through Latin Pop Shop on Etsy.