October 13, 2011 | Download PDF
Nahúm Flores presents Wandering Sight, a collection of more than 20 new paintings, in a solo exhibition at Spence Gallery
Spence Gallery is pleased to announce its second solo exhibit for Nahúm Flores. Wandering Sight opens on November 5 and runs to November 27, 2011.
Flores continues to create mixed media paintings that evolve from his unique process of layering. His media include organic pigments, polymer acrylic and ink. He combines drawing, photo-imagery and found materials with acrylic paints seeking to construct images intuitively. Photographs of crumbling walls in Mexico adorned with graffiti relating to a social struggle are transferred to his canvases using a gel medium. This results in delicate, ceramic-like pieces with layers of personal memories that are deeply rooted in historical events.
Drawing on tragic incidents from his past and his experience as a displaced person, Flores' dense, layered paintings speak of the human condition. Despite their often dire inspiration, his works are sensitively rendered and infused with both humour and hope.
Born in Honduras in 1974, Flores lived near the border with Nicaragua and experienced the socio-political and environmental turmoil that wracked Central America at that time. He recalls, "These experiences affected my outlook. Fear, paranoia, violence, poverty and war propaganda were confronted in everyday life. This negativity contrasted with the harmony and high spirits of the people, their mythologies, beliefs and the landscape."
At the age of fourteen, Flores had to leave home on his own; he headed for Mexico and then entered the US as a migrant worker. Later he immigrated to Canada and became part of a Diaspora of displaced people. Pursing his desire to be an artist, he graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 2001. Since then his work has been exhibited widely in Canada and internationally in New York, Croatia, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico, including presentations at the 2nd and 3rd Biennales of Visual Art in Honduras. Flores was the recipient of the Corporate Purchase Award at the 2008 and 2011 Artist Project Fair in Toronto. He is also a member of Toronto's innovative Zotz* Collective. Spence Gallery has been representing Nahúm Flores since 2006.
The public is invited to join Flores at the opening reception on Saturday, November 5 from 6 to 9 pm.
SPENCE GALLERY, located in Mirvish Village (Bathurst & Bloor), is a one of a kind gallery in Toronto. The gallery was founded to share culturally diverse artistic expressions. It provides a taste of contemporary art of Caribbean, Latin American and African artists and the Diaspora. It is dedicated to diversity and celebrates the cultural influences of the artists.
For further information & to set up interviews with the artist please contact: Joan Spence, Director – 416 795 2787