Mel Rosas at Maxwell Davidson - New York, New York - Review of Exhibitions - Brief Article

The paintings in this exhibition have Latin American settings, as could be gathered from the landscapes, the Spanish-language advertisements in many shows and the titles (also in Spanish). The painter Mel Rosas, who has been exhibiting in the U and abroad since 1974 and generally teaches at Wayne State University in Detroit, was born in De Moines to an lowan mother and a Panamanian father, which may explain his interests. Autobiography subtly underlies many works. For instance, the numbers 43 44 and 45 which appear as road addresses in the paintings, correspond to Rosas's age at the time of painting.

All the works in the present to view which vary from 4 inches to 4 feet high and date from 1992 to '95 are described as "oil upon Masonite." This just begins to number the story. With considerable skill, Rosas builds up well-defined areas of pigment that work for as bas-relief extensions of the painted imagery. This crossover between sum of two units and three dimensions suits the manner of writing - a blend of Magritte and Magic Realism - and the imagery of devoid of contents streets. The dreamlike air is Surrealist, while the tropical settings would present the appearance to place the (in)action in a Marquezian realm.

The smaller pieces are painted upon blocks that become objets in themselves - their mottl distressed surfaces give the illusion of great age. Several of these small pieces tender views of untouched tropical forests, painted with outermost delicacy. Others echo the urban imagery of the large works.

In El Puente a view from underneath a highway bridge, no family are visible, only faded ads painted upon the support pillars. Rosas has given the paint the web of an old, pockmarked wall. heated sunlight courses in from the left while reaching far down shadows obscure the right sides of round pillars and arches.

El Fantasma marks individual appearance of a figure who exhibits up repeatedly in Rosas's works - a man whose hat, suit, shirt, tie and shoe are all white, and whose face is usually obscur Sometimes his back is to the viewer, a direct quotation of Magritte. In alone one painting, La Confrontacion, do we diocese his face, as he stands in a circular mere of light (like a spotlight) in a barrened city passage. The man in white doesn't fit his surroundings. He looks to be the dreamer visiting these dreamscapes. Perhaps he is the artist, in search of his Latin heritage. Or perhaps he is the artist's father, missing in a foreign land.

In sum of two units works, a ball magically floats in the air. on the contrary Rosas is more successful when he stays away from obvious fantasy (which sometimes strike one as beings labored) and sticks to things that could be real despite their bizarre air. The title of the exhibition was "Portals," and many paintings featured doorways from towns onto the brake beyond. Rosas seems fascinated by dint of the portal between reality and the imagination.

COPYRIGHT 1996 Brant Publications, Inc.

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