CECUT presents the exhibition "Trompe-L'oeil" by Enrique Ciapara

Enrique Ciapara Exhibits at El Cubo

July 2, 2013, El Sol de Tijuana

by Cecilia E. Serrano

Tijuana.— In Sala 3 of the El Cubo gallery, the work of master painter Enrique Ciapara is on display in the exhibition "Trompe l'oeil," a different way of challenging contemporary art. Without a doubt, Ciapara's creativity lies in showing a distinct form of artistic expression, one that allows the essence of a visual artist's studio to be seen displayed inside a museum.

CECUT director Pedro Ochoa inaugurated the exhibition, describing the work as a new way of exhibiting the artist's studio and the artist's studio at the museum.

Of this unusual exhibition, curator Fernando Delmar defines the master's work as follows: "Enrique Ciapara's painting reclaims what does not belong to painting and articulates itself as a language that obeys no defined grammar. The works gathered in this exhibition describe a threshold between all the possibilities that can be found, beyond what we manage to see, beyond the landscape, in the direction of lines, like writing in the dark."

Ciapara's painting does not represent what we see, but rather what we might come to see, which is why the exhibition is aimed as much at the viewer's eye as, above all, at their imagination.

Enrique Ciapara trained as an artist in independent workshops and in the studios of painters and printmakers in Tijuana, such as Felipe Almada, Luis Moret, Fernando Delmar himself, and teacher Marta Palau, among others.

His work lets you see those images that appear when you are traveling — by train, car, or plane — and look through the window: at first they are shapes and colors, if you don't look straight outward, but when you do, you already see the form, the landscapes, little houses, towns, lights — and that is what his work projects, a way of seeing life painted in color.

Cecut Presents the Exhibition "Trompe l'oeil" by Enrique Ciapara

Tuesday, June 25, 2013, 3:36 pm

** Sala 3 of El Cubo will host a retrospective exhibition of the Tijuana-based artist, complemented by visits to his studio, where visitors will be able to see works in progress.

Tijuana, B.C.— As part of its program reviewing the work of artists from the region, Centro Cultural Tijuana presents the exhibition "Trompe-L'oeil" by Enrique Ciapara, curated by Fernando Delmar, known in the art world as Alberto Dilger, which will open next Friday, June 28, at 7:00 p.m. Housed in Sala 3 of the El Cubo gallery, the exhibition brings together work from different periods of the Tijuana-born artist's career, which can also be discovered in the laboratory where it is created: the artist's studio, starting Saturday, July 6, as CECUT extends its exhibition space, on this occasion, all the way to the very doors of his workshop.

In this way, the public will be able to discover a series of works representative of the trajectory of this artist, born in Tijuana in 1972, as well as pieces still in progress. With his initial studies at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California, Ciapara trained mainly in independent workshops and in the studios of painters and printmakers in Tijuana, such as Felipe Almada, Luis Moret, Alberto Dilger (Fernando Delmar), and teacher Marta Palau, among others.

An artist with international reach, Enrique Ciapara has held several solo exhibitions abroad to date, including "Ciapara" at Take It Easy in San Diego, California, in 2010, and "Enrique Ciapara" at Galería 3art in Barcelona, Spain, in 1998, while in Tijuana he has exhibited "Obra sobre papel" at Galería 256 in 2009, and "Ciapara" at La Caja Galería in 2006. This is not the first time Ciapara has exhibited at CECUT: in 2001 he presented the show "Detritus" there, and a decade later took part in "Obra Negra, una aproximación a la construcción de la cultura visual de Tijuana," the only exhibition to date to have occupied all three halls of El Cubo simultaneously. The title of the current show, "Trompe-L'oeil," is a French expression meaning "to deceive the eye," which within the art of painting refers to an academic approach to figuration that attempts to convince the eye, through a play of perspective, of an illusion of something we see that does not actually exist.

Enrique Ciapara's work unfolds as a dialogue with painting, making clear that painting has not died. His work runs against the current of what, for more than three decades, has been claimed about the death of the practice of this artistic language, brought about by the emergence of other media and strategies in art

Beyond these theoretical upheavals, Ciapara's proposal constitutes an act that puts on the table a reflection on the nature of painting, acknowledging its genealogy and reformulating its condition in the present time.

"Trompe-L'oeil" presents at CECUT a retrospective show of Ciapara's work, while in his studio visitors will be able to see pieces in the process of creation and a series of three-dimensional works built around traditional painting themes: history, the nude, landscape, and still life. In addition, over the course of the exhibition, the artist will create a large-format painting on this last theme, based on a still-life arrangement that will serve as his model in the classical sense of the art of representation.

By presenting an exhibition with these characteristics, the aim is to bring the artist's studio to the museum and the museum to the artist's studio; so that, in addition to showing an anthological selection of his work, visitors will have the opportunity to take part directly in the creative process, deepening their understanding of the practice of art, the use of space, and the nature of painting as a language capable of generating new languages.

Following its opening next Friday, "Trompe-L'oeil" will remain on view in Sala 3 of El Cubo over the following months. For visiting hours, please check www.cecut.gob.mx, where you can also find out about the rest of our activities.

Enrique Ciapara "Deceives the Eye" with His Upcoming Exhibition

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Published by Lizeth García

The exhibition "Trompe-L'oeil" by Enrique Ciapara, curated by Fernando Delmar, known in the art world as Alberto Dilger, will open soon, on Friday, June 28, at 7:00 p.m.

The exhibition will be held in Sala 3 of the El Cubo gallery at Centro Cultural Tijuana, bringing together different stages of the Tijuana-based artist's career, which can also be discovered in the laboratory where it is created: the artist's studio, starting Saturday, July 6, as part of Centro Cultural Tijuana's program to bring the artist closer to the public, at the very place of production.

In this way, the public will be able to discover a series of works representative of the trajectory of this artist, born in Tijuana in 1972, as well as pieces still in progress.

The title of the current show, "Trompe-L'oeil," is a French expression meaning "to deceive the eye," which within the art of painting refers to an academic approach to figuration that attempts to convince the eye, through a play of perspective, of an illusion of something we see that does not actually exist.

"By presenting an exhibition with these characteristics, the aim is to bring the artist's studio to the museum and the museum to the artist's studio; so that, in addition to showing an anthological selection of his work, visitors will have the opportunity to take part directly in the creative process," explains the press release sent by CECUT's Press Department.

This is not the first time Ciapara has exhibited at CECUT: in 2001 he presented the show "Detritus" there, and a decade later took part in "Obra Negra, una aproximación a la construcción de la cultura visual de Tijuana," the only exhibition to date to have occupied all three halls of El Cubo simultaneously.

The title of the current show, "Trompe-L'oeil," is a French expression meaning "to deceive the eye" or trompe l'oeil, which within the art of painting refers to an academic approach to figuration that attempts to convince the eye, through a play of perspective, of an illusion of something we see that does not actually exist.

Enrique Ciapara's work unfolds as a dialogue with painting, making clear that painting has not died. His work runs against the current of what, for more than three decades, has been claimed about the death of the practice of this artistic language, brought about by the emergence of other media and strategies in art.

Beyond these theoretical upheavals, Ciapara's proposal constitutes an act that puts on the table a reflection on the nature of painting, acknowledging its genealogy and reformulating its condition in the present time.

"Trompe-L'oeil" presents at CECUT a retrospective show of Ciapara's work, while in his studio visitors will be able to see pieces in the process of creation and a series of three-dimensional works built around traditional painting themes: history, the nude, landscape, and still life. In addition, over the course of the exhibition, the artist will create a large-format painting on this last theme, based on a still-life arrangement that will serve as his model in the classical sense of the art of representation.

By presenting an exhibition with these characteristics, the aim is to bring the artist's studio to the museum and the museum to the artist's studio; so that, in addition to showing an anthological selection of his work, visitors will have the opportunity to take part directly in the creative process, deepening their understanding of the practice of art, the use of space, and the nature of painting as a language capable of generating new languages.

Following its opening next Friday, "Trompe-L'oeil" will remain on view in Sala 3 of El Cubo over the following months. For visiting hours, please check www.cecut.gob.mx, where you can also find out about the rest of our activities.

Sincerely,

Centro Cultural Tijuana

Cecut Brings the Artist's Studio to the Museum and Vice Versa

July 1, 2013

With Enrique Ciapara's exhibition Trompe l'oeil, Centro Cultural Tijuana launches a new exhibition format that consists of bringing "the museum to the artist's studio and the artist's studio to the museum," announced Pedro Ochoa Palacio, CECUT's general director, moments before inaugurating, last Friday, June 28, the Tijuana-born painter's show on display in Sala 3 of the El Cubo gallery.

The official explained that this new way of working with local artists consists of the fact that, while most of the work is exhibited at El Cubo, another part will remain in the painter's studio, where he himself will also have a piece in progress that the public will be able to observe starting Saturday, July 6, the date scheduled for the start of visits to Ciapara's studio.

Getting to know an artist's work in the very laboratory where it is created will undoubtedly allow the public a much richer experience and the chance to admire the artistic work from another perspective, said Ochoa Palacio, while acknowledging the exhibition's curator, Fernando Delmar, for his work selecting and installing Enrique Ciapara's pieces, who was also present on the occasion.

More than a retrospective show, this is an anthological exhibition of Enrique Ciapara, curator Delmar clarified in turn, beginning by explaining that the title "Trompe l'oeil" is a French expression meaning "to deceive the eye," which within the art of painting refers to an academic approach to figuration that attempts to convince the eye, through a play of perspective, of an illusion of something we see that does not actually exist.

"In Ciapara's exhibition you won't find a literal 'trompe l'oeil,' however, there is a great deal of visual artifice in his painting," Delmar affirmed, maintaining that this artist "teaches us to see things that we can only see through painting."

Another feature of Ciapara's work, as can be observed in "Trompe l'oeil," is the freedom with which he approaches painting and the enormous playful power his works display, the curator of the show noted, pointing out that "this artist's work runs against the current of the theories about the death of painting that some have repeated for decades, and which in his case turn out to be entirely false."

In Ciapara's work, painting frees itself from the power of representation to reveal itself in its freest possible form, expressed above all through the use of large masses of color, and its figures, when present, are silhouettes barely perceptible through undefined strokes.

Ciapara's painting does not represent what we see, but rather what we might come to see, which is why the exhibition is aimed as much at the viewer's eye as, above all, at their imagination. From this Tijuana-based artist's perspective, painting is part of nature, one more element that completes reality.

Born in Tijuana in 1972 and with initial studies at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California, Enrique Ciapara trained as an artist in independent workshops and in the studios of painters and printmakers in Tijuana, such as Felipe Almada, Luis Moret, Fernando Delmar himself, and teacher Marta Palau, among others.

An artist with international reach, Ciapara has held several solo exhibitions abroad to date, including "Ciapara" at Take It Easy in San Diego, California, in 2010, and "Enrique Ciapara" at Galería 3art in Barcelona, Spain, in 1998, while in Tijuana he has exhibited "Obra sobre papel" at Galería 256 in 2009, and "Ciapara" at La Caja Galería in 2006.

This is not the first time Ciapara has exhibited at CECUT; in 2001 he presented the show "Detritus" there, and a decade later took part in "Obra Negra, una aproximación a la construcción de la cultura visual de Tijuana," the only exhibition to date to have occupied all three halls of El Cubo.

"Trompe l'oeil" will remain on view in Sala 3 of El Cubo over the following months. If you are interested in the rest of our activities, please check www.cecut.gob.mx

Ciapara Exhibits at Cecut

June 26, 2013, CULTURE

As part of its program reviewing the work of artists from the region, Centro Cultural Tijuana presents the exhibition "Trompe-L'oeil" by Enrique Ciapara, curated by Fernando Delmar, known in the art world as Alberto Dilger, which will open next Friday, June 28, at 7:00 p.m. Housed in Sala 3 of the El Cubo gallery, the exhibition brings together work from different periods of the Tijuana-born artist's career, which can also be discovered in the laboratory where it is created: the artist's studio, starting Saturday, July 6, as Cecut extends its exhibition space, on this occasion, all the way to the very doors of his workshop.

In this way, the public will be able to discover a series of works representative of the trajectory of this artist, born in Tijuana in 1972, as well as pieces still in progress. With his initial studies at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California, Enrique Ciapara trained mainly in independent workshops and in the studios of painters and printmakers in Tijuana, such as Felipe Almada, Luis Moret, Alberto Dilger (Fernando Delmar), and teacher Marta Palau, among others.

An artist with international reach, Enrique Ciapara has held several solo exhibitions abroad to date, including "Ciapara" at Take It Easy in San Diego, California, in 2010, and "Enrique Ciapara" at Galería 3art in Barcelona, Spain, in 1998, while in Tijuana he has exhibited "Obra sobre papel" at Galería 256 in 2009, and "Ciapara" at La Caja Galería in 2006.

This is not the first time Ciapara has exhibited at Cecut: in 2001 he presented the show "Detritus" there, and a decade later took part in "Obra Negra, una aproximación a la construcción de la cultura visual de Tijuana," the only exhibition to date to have occupied all three halls of El Cubo simultaneously. The title of the current show, "Trompe-L'oeil," is a French expression meaning "to deceive the eye," which within the art of painting refers to an academic approach to figuration that attempts to convince the eye, through a play of perspective, of an illusion of something we see that does not actually exist.

Enrique Ciapara's work unfolds as a dialogue with painting, making clear that painting has not died. His work runs against the current of what, for more than three decades, has been claimed about the death of the practice of this artistic language, brought about by the emergence of other media and strategies in art.

Beyond these theoretical upheavals, Ciapara's proposal constitutes an act that puts on the table a reflection on the nature of painting, acknowledging its genealogy and reformulating its condition in the present time.

"Trompe-L'oeil" presents at Cecut a retrospective show of Ciapara's work, while in his studio visitors will be able to see pieces in the process of creation and a series of three-dimensional works built around traditional painting themes: history, the nude, landscape, and still life. In addition, over the course of the exhibition, the artist will create a large-format painting on this last theme, based on a still-life arrangement that will serve as his model in the classical sense of the art of representation.

By presenting an exhibition with these characteristics, the aim is to bring the artist's studio to the museum and the museum to the artist's studio; so that, in addition to showing an anthological selection of his work, visitors will have the opportunity to take part directly in the creative process, deepening their understanding of the practice of art, the use of space, and the nature of painting as a language capable of generating new languages.

Following its opening next Friday, "Trompe-L'oeil" will remain on view in Sala 3 of El Cubo over the following months.