Roberto Paradise

An exhibition from San Juan, Puerto Rico
Dates: 13th July – 11th August 2012

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To mark the 25th exhibition at the gallery since it opened, Josh Lilley is delighted to welcome Galeria Roberto Paradise to London – providing a new context and audience for some of of Puerto Rico’s leading contemporary artists.

In this Olympic month, a cultural exchange of ideas has provided a platform for Roberto Paradise to highlight a cross section of its programme in London for the first time. A series of paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other mixed media, brings together the work of; Jose Lerma, Hector Madera, Jesus Bubu Negron, Jonathan Torres, Fernando Pintado, Chaveli Sifre, and Juni Figueroa. 2013 will likely see a presentation of Josh Lilley gallery artists exhibiting in San Juan.

Selected works in this exhibition include; Jose Lerma and Hector Madera’s oversized paper bust of Emanuel Augustus – which sits claustrophobic and hemmed in between the ceiling and floor. Fernando Pintado’s paintings turn canvas into paper in a disarming attempt to translate the intimacy of a drawing into a large-scale work.

Radames ‘Juni’ Figueroa’s Capitan Veneto is a phantasmagorical portrait of Francesco Schettino – the infamous Italian captain who jumped off his sinking ship leaving guests and crew behind. A real anchor pulls the painting downwards and sits in front of it on the floor. A rudder and lifesaver look like undeserved medals on his chest.

Chaveli Sifre’s Only Fools consists of an anonymous trashcan filled with a bouquet of freshly discarded flowers accompanied by a hum created with the waves emitted by pulsars or dead stars and the artist last night with her late lover. The piece conveys a soothing lament emitted by a bunch of discarded flowers that are, in a way, crying. Displacement plays a fundamental role, it is literally the displacement of beauty, the abandonment of hope through the vain act of discarding flowers, objects so intensely drenched with the concepts of celebration, beauty and hope.

Selected Portfolio (Travel Size) by Jesus ‘Bubu’ Negron, is composed of 14 photographs laminated onto wood – offering an intimate insight into the artist’s practice over the past ten years. The work is ongoing – whereby the artist reserves the right to add or remove images/projects at any given time. Also exhibited will be one of the few paintings produced by the artist! Titled Chica Cherry Master (Jackpot Series) this piece comments on the processes of legitimisation that exist in the art world, where an artist’s opportunity or luck resides mainly with galleries or collectors; it is both a system of bets and of speculation – with unpredictable results. At the same time, Negron tackles an issue characteristic of the idiosyncrasy of a people who, during taxing economic times, turn to games of chance as a self defeating thread of faith.