Carlo Mejia at Jag Gallery. Jan 28 – Feb 8th (Reception Feb 8th, 5 – 7 pm)
Mark your calendars, folks. Jag Gallery will be hosting special guest Carlo Mejía with The Studios of Key West. Carlo Mejía will be exhibiting works from his series Close to My Roots, as well as his ‘pillow vase’ ceramics. TSKW will be running a fundraiser and a portion of the proceeds will go to Giving Circles; Giving Circles is an opportunity for donors to support The Studios of Key West through gifts to specific projects and program areas that are meaningful to them and meet the needs of the organization.
It is difficult to summarize a biography for an artist like Carlo Mejía, whose extensive career has taken the art and artist all over the world. His son, Carlo Jr., who translated interviews with his father, supplied a wonderful article written by the American art historian Peter Hastings Falk. A truncated section of that article only begins to capture the prolific life and work of Mejía:
“In order to grasp the genius of Carlo Mejía one must explore the path he followed as the last of a breed, a descendent of the ancient Mayans of the Yucatan Peninsula. He was born in 1945 on the outskirts of San Salvador.
In 1959 a thirteen-year-old boy from El Salvador found himself surrounded by paintings hanging in the city’s inaugural of the Biennale de Paris. Remarkably, three of them were his. He was wearing his very first pair of shoes, which had caused blisters. Until this journey, he
had always gone barefoot. Beside him was the Salvadoran diplomat who had first recognized the boy’s great talent, and now accompanied him as his champion and chaperone. They were soon joined by a short balding gentleman who seemed to be about eighty and who was particularly impressed with the boy’s paintings. “You work reminds me of Picasso,” declared the elder man. Without pausing, the boy boldly replied, “But I’m much better than Picasso!”
At that point both of the men burst out laughing. The boy’s confusion was quickly allayed when the admirer introduced himself as Picasso. He also stated that he had just purchased the boy’s prize-winning painting.
This extraordinary incident would be followed by even better news. Shortly after returning to San Salvador, the diplomat informed the boy that Picasso had arranged for a full scholarship for him at the Académie des Beaux-Arts for the next year.
Understanding the depth of Mejía’s roots in Mayan culture brings greater appreciation of his works in ceramic, on canvas, and on paper. The authenticity of his backstory makes his art doubly compelling because his quest was born of a moral responsibility to perpetuate Mayan mythology.”
It is with great excitement that Jag Gallery will be hosting Carlo’s work. This pop up event will run from January 28 to February 8th at Jag Gallery. Carlo’s visionary paintings and sculptures will be on display with a Q&A with Carlo (hosted by the staff at TSKW), on Saturday, February 8th from 5 – 7 pm at Jag Gallery.
Jag Gallery is located at 1075 Duval Street, C23 (Duval Square). We have plenty of parking in front of the gallery. You can visit our website at www.jaggallery.art, email us at [email protected], and follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/
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