Alvaro Gomez, head of printmaking at Monte Azul Press, has recently directed his attention towards his paintings on canvas. These works, largely abstract landscapes, capture Alvaro’s love of Costa Rica’s rainforest and rural countryside.
His colour palette of greys and yellow hint at the equatorial seasonal rains and reflect Alvaro’s hopeful outlook in the face of sometimes overwhelming challenges.
Structurally, the lyrical quality of his paintings may owe a great deal to Alvaro's interest in poetry, literature and music. Certain patterns of paint and colour across the canvas recall the pages of sheet music; classical structures that rise and fall in cyclical form painted over fields of jazz-inspired random order. Yet, spontaneity is not lost - despite his intellectual concerns.
Gomez’s concerns with the loss of habitat in his beloved rainforest are manifested in the ethereal qualities of his works. Rather than literal depictions, Gomez’s rainforests present an other-worldliness vision to the viewer. A place experienced with many senses, of extraordinary beauty and of incalculable value.
His work is at once about our optimistic determination to preserve what is left of the natural world, as it is a wistful memory of paradise lost.
Alvaro Gomez’s paintings and works on paper may be viewed at MACA New York or at Monte Azul in Costa Rica. In February of 2009, Mead Brown, Costa Rica based luxury travel experts, hosted a reception for Gomez at their venue in Playa Herradura (next to Los Sueños Resort). Contact us for details.
