Visited the fabulous Anno Domini gallery on Saturday, to see their current show of works by Dante Horoiwa. They were flown in from Brazil, a big thanks to AD for footing the bill, it is a very solid solo show.
Most of Dante's works are dark in hue and they were dimly lit in the gallery, almost as if one were in a monastery. Dante's art is truly international and eclectic. Staring at his works - so many influences seem to flood forward. From Spanish mural styles to today's newbrow street art, Japanese design aesthetics, early sacred Hispanic works and native costumes. In the end- "Native American surreal" comes to me. The images were subdued, ethereal and almost like a visit to mid evil times. My favorite was "Distracted We" a gorgeous, somewhat abstract woman in tribal op-art dress with a rooster on her head. She seems serene, all-knowing, stoned, spiritual and sensuous - all at the same time. Just couldn't get enough of her. A wondrous and haunting body of work.
“What I´m trying to express is some kind of ‘invisible insistence,’ invisible forces that are around us, things that lead us to a blindness and a lack of comprehension. It makes us drown all of our intuition and instinct into the things that makes us feel comfortable enough to forget our own imperfections, anesthetizing our existence, our individuality as a being...the invisible insistence that devours our means to grow."
~ Dante Horoiwa
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Anno Domini, 366 South First Street
(btwn San Carlos & San Salvador) San Jose, CA 95113
