There are one thousand and one reasons to check out Rafael Barón Herazo’s show. Here are one or two of them.
Rafael Barón Herazo’s show entitled 1000 +1 on the second floor of Galería Otros 360º / Otros 360 Gallery located in a popular restaurant on Quinto Camacho could be misconstrued as kitschy work, embodying the screen sirens of Hollywood’s Golden Era.
There are no Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan visages here. Only the glamorous faces of Dietrich and Garbo grace the large-scale canvases of this Barranquilla and Medellín-based artist. Asked about his inspiration and why he depicted movie stars from the 30s and 40s in this work Barón stated, “Stars from the golden age of cinema were used as a nod to that idea of timeless beauty, idealized and close to the concept of divinity.” This is why he says, “The use of halos were also prominent in the work.”
“I feel that my work is melodramatic, exacerbated in feelings, and theatrical and these characters, or their frames, give the perfect accent and atmosphere that I want to convey in my images,” he explained.
Another element that is prevalent in the work and in this series – indeed it’s where it got its name – is the Arabian Nights or A Thousand And One Nights. Barón explains it’s about the night and the oriental aesthetics of the rugs. He added, “I understood that the universe was where both are combined and that was my closest reference and meeting point of the two topics I wanted to address: the night and oriental rugs.”
Barón states, “This period developed in my imaginary universe is where my work takes place and my characters live, and what I call the ‘Macondo Social Club;’ I was also inspired by the night, that’s why all the works have grey backgrounds.”
The carpets and rugs come into his art as a dress worn by Barón’s glamorous divas or a bodice, the composition of a jacket on one of his dapper male escorts, or even as a halo. The price of the works ranges between ten and twenty-two million Colombian pesos. The magic carpet ride of Barón’s work really does seem to take the viewer into his universe of L’amour and divinity.
Rafael Barón Herazo’s show can be seen at Galería Otros 360º until 2 July 2022
Calle 70A #9-24, Bogota
Tel: +57 601 527 62 70