Photo courtesy of Raymond Bell
Yesterday I witnessed a surreal and mind-blowing exhibition by my good friend Pedro Baez in NYC. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of getting a sneak peek at a bunch of the works when I visited Pedro in the studio. That was my first time seeing him since 2018 and it was great to catch up and talk about art and life.
I first met Pedro in 2017 when we exhibited together in a group show in Plainfield, NJ called "The Welcoming".
Since then a lot has changed for both of us and of course, Covid played a role in our growth both creatively and personally. Aside from the work I can't help but notice the similarities we share in life, for example, Pedro was born in Venezuela in 1989 and immigrated to the US in 1997. I was born in Jamaica in 1989 and also immigrated to the US in 1997. This stood out to me while reading his bio at the exhibition.
Pedro Baez, Dimensional Acceleration, 2023
From a creative standpoint, I admire the cohesiveness and diversity in Pedro's color choices, shapes, patterns, and art styles displayed in his exhibition titled "The Indivisible Atomo". My immediate feeling when I stepped into the gallery was that of immense joy and peace as I was greeted by two beautiful, lush landscape paintings featuring his gigantic and vibrant Atomo characters bulging through the water and trees.
Pedro Baez, Reflejo de Atomo, 2023
In Pedro's artist statement, he describes Atomo as the "personification of an atom". He also mentions that Atomo became the central protagonist in his work by experimenting with pop cultural references and that Atomo in his own words "exists somewhere between the physical world and the subconscious mind as a vessel for exploration and discovery of unseen worlds".
Pedro Baez, Transcendence of Space & Time, 2023
My absolute favorite piece in the show is the painting titled "Transcendence of Space & Time", for the reason I mentioned above regarding cohesion and diversity. In my opinion, this painting is a great display of Pedro's various styles of painting paired with his impeccable knowledge of colors and compositional skills. In addition, the visual presentation utilizing projected imagery on the walls and the use of lighting was the extra icing on the cake for me.
I could go on and on about this exhibition and share a thousand images, but I highly recommend going to see Pedro's work at Lume Studios in NYC if you live near the greater NYC Metropolitan area. The last day to see the show is March 17, from 11am - 7pm.
The full catalog of all Pedro's works in the show are here: https://www.lumestudios.com/pedrojbaez-catalog