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Lot Essay
Mexican born Alfredo Castañeda is one of the most intriguing Latin American artists of the second half of the 20th Century. Trained as an architect, he has devoted his life to painting in a late Surrealist style. In this fashion, the artist questions ideas of representation both in terms of the formal qualities of art and its content by exploring personal identity. Castañeda places his own image in unique circumstances that can be related to both every day events and the world of dreams. In doing so, the artist's work becomes universal, addressing the conscious and the unconscious of the viewer.
Untitled (Self-portrait with Calendar), 1987 is a seminal example of the artists autobiographical oeuvre. In this provocative painting, the image of the artist appears beside a calendar and a table with a bottle of wine, a glass and half of a loaf of bread. Not unlike the Surrealist concern of time and the quotidian, Castañeda places himself in a complex imaginary context in which what he sees is not necessarily what we see; 'Ce ci n'est pas une pipe. Castañeda personalizes the painting with strongly symbolic imagery: the half-empty bottle and glass are clear symbols of sustenance and daily life. The mysterious, delineated arm pointing to the calendar with 32 days seems to question the notion of passing time and the fragility of life.
While these elements form a kind of map for interpretation, Castañeda's work remains enigmatic, inviting the viewer to inject himself and form his own conclusions.
Untitled (Self-portrait with Calendar), 1987 is a seminal example of the artists autobiographical oeuvre. In this provocative painting, the image of the artist appears beside a calendar and a table with a bottle of wine, a glass and half of a loaf of bread. Not unlike the Surrealist concern of time and the quotidian, Castañeda places himself in a complex imaginary context in which what he sees is not necessarily what we see; 'Ce ci n'est pas une pipe. Castañeda personalizes the painting with strongly symbolic imagery: the half-empty bottle and glass are clear symbols of sustenance and daily life. The mysterious, delineated arm pointing to the calendar with 32 days seems to question the notion of passing time and the fragility of life.
While these elements form a kind of map for interpretation, Castañeda's work remains enigmatic, inviting the viewer to inject himself and form his own conclusions.