NICOLE FIACCO GALLERY
506 Warren Street
July/August 2006
Kico Govantes: Musaranas
Hudson, NY. Nicole Fiacco Gallery, 506 Warren Street, Hudson, NY announces the Kico Govantes solo exhibition of new paintings entitled Musaranas (day dreaming). After 2005's well received and nearly sold-out debut solo exhibition, Kico Govantes returns to the gallery with a new body of paintings. The artist continues to use the stick figure form as the foundation for his complex compositions.
Cuban born artist, Kico Govantes began creating art at the age of ten. His work has been influenced by Cuban Folk Art, Calligraphy and Abstract Expressionism. In the new paintings, Govantes, utilizing his layering technique, paints entire large-scale canvases with hundreds of boldly colored figures. The artist then continues to add more and more figures, covering some while allowing others to appear more boldly. Gallery owner, Nicole Fiacco explains, “Govantes’ new paintings are constructed in a way, heavily worked with layers upon layers of paint. The abstractions are the result of the artist ‘erasing’ the figures by adding more paint, while at the same time revealing and ‘erasing’ the forms. The new paintings are representative of an exciting new phase in Govantes’ work, yet remain true to his unique style of painting.”
In Govantes’ paintings the stick figures are repeated and dominate the surface of the picture plane. In the earlier works they appeared joyful as they moved across the canvas. In his new paintings the more abstracted figures captivate the viewer’s imagination. They recall a vague or distant memory and elicit a deeply emotional response.
Govantes’ new paintings draw the viewer into his world, populated by multiple figures or separated groups of figures. In Govantes’ new paintings the more abstracted imagery elicits a sense of longing in the viewer.
Kico Govantes was born in Havana, Cuba in 1957 to a prominent family whose ancestors came to the New World from Spain in 1649. When Fidel Castro rose to power his family was forced to flee Cuba and came to the United States in 1960. In 1980, Kico Govantes received his Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in Liberal Arts from Beloit College in Wisconsin. He also studied architecture and sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design. In 1980 he moved to San Francisco, CA where he began pursuing his career as an artist. His work was shown at several West Coast galleries during the 1980’s and 1990’s. He now lives and works in the Hudson Valley.
