“Presently I paint surfaces—
Surface is first. It is the most immediate and indispensable part of painting, not read, but rather felt. The feelings it arouses are instantaneous. Before the viewer recognizes the image, he has already been seduced by the surface...”

One is indeed seduced by the large abstract works of artist, Merry Calderoni. They beg to be touched and speak to the senses, evoking memories of heat-hazed courtyards and crumbling ruins, redolent of sun-baked earth, dust and time.

Merry began studying, and painting, in her hometown of Odessa, Texas. She followed those pursuits through college, and later, when life led her to Venezuela, at the Bellas Artes in Caracas and Maracaibo, where she exhibited in a number of shows. On her return to Texas, she continued her painting and her education, receiving scholarships and awards at Houston Museum of Fine Arts’ Glassell School, and studying in France, Italy, and San Miguel’s Instituto Allende.

The surfaces that Merry has chosen to paint are walls. As she explains, “Much like the history of Mexico, each wall has many layers and can tell a multitude of stories.” Merry uses her dedication to color and texture to conjure the essence of those stories, to convey the endurance and timeless presence inherent in the structures. Her paints may include actual fragments of walls, coarsely ground and mixed with pigment and the earthy colors blend and bleed and run, one on top of another. The layers of the paintings, like the walls themselves, may incorporate torn posters, tired bits of metal, odd remnants and tracings of the past.

Merry’s most recent body of work was based on her experiences aiding in excavations of nearby Otomi pyramids. Entitled Mexcavations, the paintings were presented in a major show hosted by Bellas Artes and exhibited in a one man show in Houston. She is now working on a series inspired by the Mexican Revolution to be shown at the Queretaro Museum of Fine Art in 2010.

Merry Calderoni was the founding artist of the Fabrica la Aurora Art and Design Center, which has also served as inspiration for her works, and her studio is open to the public on select days.
Merry Calderoni – http://www.calderoniart.com/

 

 

La basta gama de trabajo abstracto de la artista Merry Calderón es en verdad seductora. Su obra pide ser acariciada y habla a los sentidos, evocando memorias de cálidos jardines, ruinas que se derrumban, fragante tierra soleada, polvosa, añeja.

Merry inició sus estudios y pinturas en su tierra natal, Odessa, Texas. Continuó su formación académica y más tarde, cuando la vida la llevó a Venezuela, a Bellas Artes de Caracas y Maracaibo, realizó varias exhibiciones. A su regreso a Texas, continuó pintando y estudiando, y recibió becas y reconocimientos en el Museo de Bellas Artes de la Glassell School, y estudió en Francia, Italia y en el Instituto Allende.

Las superficies que Merry ha elegido pintar, son los muros. Según explica, “como la historia de México, cada muro tiene muchas capas y puede contar multitud de historias.” Merry usa su dedicación al color y la textura para transmitir la esencia de esas historias. Sus pinturas pueden incluir fragmentos actuales de las paredes, superficies ásperas y mezcladas con pigmentos y mezclas de colores ocres que se matizan y sangran y corren. Las capas pueden incorporar pedazos de postres, agotados trozos de metal, vestigios extraños y reminiscencias del pasado.

La más reciente muestra de Merry se basa en su experiencia en la excavación de antiguas pirámides otomíes.Titulada “Mexcavaciones,” las pinturas se presentaron en una gran exhibición en Bellas Artes y exhibieron en una muestra individual en Houston. Ahora está trabajando en una serie inspirada en la Revolución Mexicana que se exhibirá en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Querétaro en el 2010.

Merry Calderoni fue la artista fundadora del Centro de Arte y Diseño de la Fábrica La Aurora y su estudio se abre al público en algunas fechas. http://www.calderoniart.com/