MARCH 01 - MARCH 31, 2001
14473 Ventura Boulevard
TRU-072-OC
"I depict a purgatory of common, in-between spaces-, non-places, where people do not go to be there," states California artist Marc Trujillo. On view at Hackett-Freedman Gallery from March 1--31 is a new body of work to which the artist refers to as There, an ironic play on the "nowhere-ness" of the sparsely populated shops, grocery stores, offices, fast-food restaurants and airports he depicts: a commentary on contemporary American life.
Marc Trujillo will be present at the opening reception on Thursday, March 1, 2001 at Hackett-Freedman Gallery, 250 Sutter Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA.
With equal irony, Trujillo titles his vignettes of mundane commercial architecture, replicated throughout the American landscape, with the precise street address. The titles belie the anonymity of the settings, and the viewer’s instant recognition of a location he or she may have never visited. This subtle estrangement from the subject after the initial sense of recognition subverts the viewer’s sense of place. It is as if Trujillo were in fact presenting us with postcards from Nowhere . . . or perhaps from Anywhere.
Trujillo also captures the insignificance and isolation that is often the product of a consumer society. It is this aspect of Trujillo’s work that associates him with Edward Hopper. Like the famous American mid-century artist, Trujillo presents us with homogenous and mundane spaces that are populated with anonymous, non-communicating figures which go about their daily business. Human figures appear to merge with the backgrounds, becoming mere attributes of the unremarkable commercial spaces through which they pass.
The artist masterfully recreates the atmospheric quality of a space: fluorescent-lighted rooms which are nearly devoid of shadows, the thick evening air of a San Fernando Valley sunset or the cavernous surroundings of an airport terminal.
A sense of detachment pervades Trujillo’s works. Neither distressing nor cheerful, they imply a sense of cool observation. Playing out the recurrent "non-events" that seem to comprise a large measure of contemporary life, the artist captures a sense of vague familiarity. The viewer is placed on the threshold between reality and theater.In spite of their melancholy tendencies, Trujillo’s elegant compositions, vivid color and skillful treatment of the medium ultimately charm the viewer into fascination with the mundane.
Trujillo, 34, received his Master of Fine Arts degree from The Yale University School of Art where he was awarded the prestigious Ely Harwood Schless Memorial Fund Prize. Marc Trujillo has exhibited in New York at Earl McGrath Gallery and in Los Angeles at Ruth Bachofner Gallery. This is his fourth solo exhibition at Hackett-Freedman Gallery of San Francisco. The artist grew up in New Mexico and currently resides in the Los Angeles area.