Ruben Aguirre : Tectonic Reflections at the National Museum of Mexican Art

 

Isn’t this how a community art center is supposed to work? An old master (Dan Ramirez) is introduced to a young master ( Ruben Aguirre) at an opening (at the National Museum of Mexican Art) - and soon they begin to collaborate on a new exhibition for that same venue. 

 But it gets even better. Aguirre is not all that young (b. 1979) and he has created over 30 outstanding murals mostly throughout the Chicago area. This exhibit marks a turning point in his career as he begins to work geoforms on a more intimate scale in his studio - just as Dan Ramirez has been doing for over fifty years. Yet these two Mexican-American abstract painters are also quite different. Ramirez cultivates the meditational qualities of stillness and luminosity - while Aguirre has always been about the thrilling, dynamic excitement of graffiti. Now we have Ramirez curating Aguirre’s debut as a fellow studio artist. 

 Gallery signage tells us these paintings “invoke poetic contemplations of origin, self-awareness, our connection to the Earth, and our impermanence.” I have some difficulty, however, in not seeing them primarily as decorative accents. Unlike Aguirre’s murals, they do not overwhelm with power, awe, and beauty. Unlike Ramirez’s panels they do not pull me into a world of transcendent meditation. Mostly what these new pieces do is make me feel good - which is not a bad thing. They give a rush of optimism as they fit so smoothly into contemporary interiors. They declare civilization a success - just as interior views depicted in early Renaissance painting once did. 

 Social Optimism is contrary to the political and identity issues that now dominate the mainstream artworld. These paintings offer the satisfaction of living among energized people in a good time and place. They do not feel personal - like so much American abstract painting of the past 70 years. They’re more like the floral motifs of upholstery or architectural ornament. With their strong inner dynamics, Louis Sullivan would have approved. Yet still I wish they had the cosmic wonder produced by Aguirre’s murals. Perhaps, someday, they will. This is only Aguirre’s first show of studio paintings.