NYAB Event - Louie Cordero "Sacred Bones"

Louie Cordero "Sacred Bones"

Jonathan LeVine Gallery

This event has ended.

Jonathan LeVine Gallery presents Sacred Bones, a series of new paintings, sculptures and drawings by Louie Cordero, in what will be the Manila-based artist’s debut solo exhibition in New York. Cordero’s puzzling, imploring, and visually striking juxtapositions are often punctuated by blood and gore, as if to imply the history of violence and bloodshed that his nation and people have sustained. Cordero’s artwork makes references to his native Philippines, a nation rich with diversity—the result of multiple changes in political regime and subjugation throughout its history. With a complex mixture of eastern and western influences, the cultural fabric of The Republic of The Philippines is a unique combination of ethnic heritage and traditions, composed of indigenous folklore, Asian customs and Spanish legacy reflective in the names and religion.

Figures from Filipino mythology and its strong oral tradition are referenced through the artist’s gruesome monsters and zombies, while another source of inspiration derived from his nationality involves the Jeepney (U.S. military vehicles abandoned after WWII, and converted by locals to use as public transportation). Each Jeepney, unique and elaborately decorated in vibrant colors, features an ornate mash-up of pop and religious iconography. By combining these elements, varied and obscure (to westerners), with imagery appropriated from Cordero’s assorted interests including kitsch, Indian advertising, cult American b-movies and pulp horror, the contrasting influences reflect the complex diversity of the artist’s heritage, itself.

Media

• Painting
• Drawing
• Sculpture

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