Emilio Perez (b. 1972)
Hoppin John
signed, titled and dated 'EMILIO PEREZ 2005 HOPPIN JOHN' (on the reverse)
acrylic and latex on panel
48 x 66in. (122 x 167.5cm.)
Executed in 2005

Provenance:
Byblos Art Gallery, Verona.
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2007.

Specialist Notes:

Emilio Perez’ dense, undulating compositions of colourful loops, swirls and hatchings, represent intricate abstractions that allude to the sensibility of comic imagery but abstain from the recognizable imagery of such genres. Perez creates works with expressive graphic dynamism where non-referential forms playfully invite the viewer to create connections between incomplete and misleading clues in the search for concrete interpretations drawn from the traditions of cartoon and comics, which the artist encourages through his playful titles. Depictions that almost look like tsunamis or tornadoes, but which are too obscured to be identified, are achieved through the combination of large solid, glossy areas of colour juxtaposed with swirling forms of hard-edged contours reminiscent graffiti letterforms. Indeed the epic scale of work such as Hoppin John are evocative of swirling landscapes or seascapes. Created with layers of vibrant colour applied over a wood panel support, the artist carefully cuts through the paint with a knife to form palimpsests of small organic forms, working within the realms between abstract painting and drawing. ‘I have always been attracted to painting and drawing—the act of painting for its physical quality and expressiveness and drawing for its immediacy. I wanted to combine the two’ (E. Perez, quoted in P. B. Franklin ‘Emilio Perez’, in Art in America, February 2012).

Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.