WE'RE HERE,
PERO ALL TAMBIEN
JOAQUIN STACEY-CALLE
CURATED BY RONALD SANCHEZ
SEPTEMBER 9 - OCTOBER 15

We’re Here, Pero Allá También

Nostalgia, the fragility of memory, human attachment, the concept of home, the sense of place, and the migratory experience are subjects that interest Stacey-Calle and can be found in his work. In this fast-paced, technology-driven world we live in, oil painting allows the artist to slow down and see the world from different perspectives and angles; the way it should be. In a gestural and brushed method, he collects and incorporates imagery from family photographs—old and new—into abstract and uncanny backgrounds composed of colors, architecture, flora, and space abstractions from the two places he’s lived in; Quito and Miami. In Stacey-Calle’s artistic process, he challenges his attachment to objects by erasing, destroying, and permanently covering his work. This creates negative spaces that generate a sense of intrigue and curiosity that welcomes viewers to explore beyond the top layer of paint. The result is a timeless composition, where an action or event from the past connects with a background from the present or vice versa. The figures in these spaces are from different times and places, and their position within the works makes them seem like they don’t belong and perhaps never will.