Carlos Estrada-Vega, “Jacoba,” wax, limestone dust, oil, oleopasto, pigments on wood, 2015
Who: Carlos Estrada-Vega
What: “Suite Color”
Where: Margaret Thatcher Projects, 539 West 23rd St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves., 212-675-0222
When: Through June 6, free, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Why: Carlos Estrada-Vega has titled his latest exhibition at Margaret Thatcher Projects “Suite Color,” and his use of color is sweet indeed. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, and living and working in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Estrada-Vega has created a series of three-dimensional eight-inch-by-eight-inch sculpture-paintings, each one consisting of more than three hundred tiny rectangular wooden boxes that jut out of an unseen metal plate at different levels, resulting in a colorful topography grid that bursts with childlike imagination. Each block is hand-painted in pigments made of wax, limestone dust, oil, and oleopasto, laid out in color schemes inspired by Estrada-Vega’s Mexican heritage, and featuring such names as “Jacinta,” “Jordana,” “Jimena,” “Judina,” and “Jorgina,” honoring the women in his culture. “My work is like a mantra that relies on discipline, intuition, and process,” Estrada-Vega notes in his artist statement. “The path of my work is systematically determined by the physical execution and my daily experience with life. Simplicity and repetition are the vehicles of form. The physical existence of the work is meant to open and reflect.” It is easy to open and reflect while looking at these engaging grids that also recall maps, pixels, and complex data representation as well as the simpler art materials of children, such as Play-Doh and Lego blocks.