Paddling Through a Sea of Gold, Pedro Ruiz Lands in Dallas
Pedro Ruiz was thrust into the limelight of his native Colombia with the debut of his exhibition “Gold: Spirit and nature of a territory” at Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá (MamBO) in 2010. This month, the painter is poised for international exposure at Dallas Art Fair 2015.
Like the series of 30 miniature paintings that caught the eye of MamBO’s director and charmed art critics five years ago, Ruiz’s latest works—the focal point of Beatriz Esguerra Art’s booth at Dallas Art Fair—are concerned with gold, and Colombia’s relationship to it. The new series, entitled “Natural Gold,” consists of six acrylic paintings on wooden board. Each one depicts a human figure, alone in a canoe, peacefully afloat in what appears to be a sea of gold.
Ruiz’s message is simple but powerful. Gold is one of Colombia’s most precious natural resources. In depicting human figures interacting with it, Ruiz meditates on the importance of harmony between man and the Earth. In the evocative Voyager (2015), Ruiz employs gold leaf and resin to create a rich, shimmering effect that instills his message about the beauty of the earth and our responsibility to protect it.
There’s a Zen-like quality to these works, something vaguely reminiscent of paintings from the Far East—an impression that’s only enhanced by the boat motif that floats through the series. Throughout his career, Ruiz has returned to the symbol of the canoe. As Colombian art critic María Cristina Pignalosa points out, “As a means of transporting people and goods in many of Colombia’s remote places [the canoe] is also a symbol of forced displacement—a tragic and persistent issue of the Colombian conflict.” In choosing this boat as the vessel for his human figures, Ruiz not only references this cultural context, but also suggests the idea of Colombian art traveling to the rest of the world—a fitting sentiment as his works travel to Dallas, where they will be met by an international audience.
Visit Beatriz Esguerra Art at Dallas Art Fair 2015, Booth F13, Apr. 9–12, 2015.
Explore Beatriz Esguerra Art and Dallas Art Fair 2015 on Artsy.
