ARTIST STATEMENT

Excerpt taken from Jorge Pech Casanova, "De Tierra Y Agua Somos", Tomas Pineda Catalog, 2007.

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ARTIST BIO

Tomas acquired his iconographic legacy from the Museum of Natural History in the United States. The artist assimilated his discovery and transformed it into his personal expression upon returning to a land that is the melting pot of cultural expressions, the Istmo of Tehuantepec. Located in Oaxaca, Mexico, Istmo is a land where the modern and ancient flow together with very diverse imageries of the globe.

Tomas Pineda does not fail to point out his indebtedness to the remote iconography of ancient Egypt, Nubians, Sumerians, Minoan and Greek culture. He is inspired by rituals that even predate the history of art. He faithfully recreates these societies on canvas that were once connected by generous and symbolic exchanges. The atmosphere of mutual benefit and comradeship prominent in his pictorial representations refers to one of the more personal elements that the artist witnessed during his stay in Tehuantepec: the material exchange of goods which culminates in a form of spiritual transaction or exchange of essences. Based on this observation Tomas depicts scenes where women with their fine features and elongated bodies offer cloths, plants and other articles to symbolize an offering only relegated to females.

Due to the intimately ritual characteristic of many of his paintings, Tomas iconography is totemic which he expresses by repeating bull-like forms and marine figures in his paintings as well as the masks which proliferate his other works. To have rituals you must have totems and symbols and Tomas paintings use both to invoke representations of the rituals of harmony and conformity which were the foundation of ancient times. As a consequence, the telluric elements, (the bull), the marine elements, (the fish) and ceremonial elements, (the masks) are included and subtly emphasized in his paintings of the life of these female creators and maintainers of peace and alliances.

Excerpts from "De Tierra Y Agua Somos", Tomas Pineda Catalog, forward by Jorge Pech Cassanova, 2007, translated by Arion Diaz.

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PRESS RELEASE

PHILADELPHIA, Pa., (September 17, 2010) ArtJaz Gallery in collaboration with The Experimental Printmaking Institute (Lafayette College, Easton, PA) are pleased to present Artist, Tomas Pineda Matus in a solo exhibition entitled “Wanderings”, October 1 through October 30th. Visiting the United States from Mexico for a brief three weeks, Tomas’ works will be on exhibit through the month of October and he will also complete a print making residency at the Experimental Printmaking Institute (EPI). At the end of the residency, Tomas will have completed a special limited edition print which will be made available to the public at an open house sponsored and held at the Experimental Printmaking Institute (EPI), Lafayette College on October 9th from 4-6pm. The Artist opening reception will be held on Friday at ArtJaz Gallery on October 1st 5pm -6pm.

Born in 1968, in Oaxaca, Mexico, Tomas Pineda Matus began studying art at the age of fifteen. Tomas’s has been influenced and inspired by the ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece, Minoa and Sumeria (one of the earliest urban societies in Southern Mesopotamia). Tomas’s paintings portray the daily rituals of giving, symbolic of the ancient traditions of the past yet they are imbued with the influence of his native Mexican heritage. The symbolic references of harmony, peace and sharing that unite all mankind are depicted in images of women, fish, bulls and masks which play prominently in his work. These ever present symbols indicative of the ancient past yearn for the present day of creating harmony, peace and sharing in our world. Tomas’s palette is rich with multiple shades of deep earthy tones and the intense blue colors symbolic of the deep blue sea. Tomas’ paintings allow the audience to connect to multiple cultures of past and present thus providing the viewer an opportunity to consciously experience a feeling of peace and harmony; the realization that universally we are all connected.

ArtJaz Gallery is a contemporary fine art gallery, specializing in promoting the art of emerging and established artists of African Descent. “Wanderings” with artist Tomas Pineda Matus will be on exhibit Oct 1-30, 2010. The opening will be held on Friday, Oct 1st 5pm –8pm at ArtJaz Gallery. An open house will be held at the Experimental Printmaking Institute (Lafayette College) on October 9th, 4-6pm. For more information call 215 922-4800. #######

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EDUCATION

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