“STARFILLED SYNCHRONICITIES”  MARCH 20  –  APRIL 28, 2015

“Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it. Do something else to it,” said Jasper Johns of his craft. Contemporary artist Jose Polcheira’s works in reclaimed wood echo this sentiment; taking an object and then re-purposing it into wonderfully colorful, joyful relief canvasses that practically glow with creative energy. His vivid, cheerful color palette bridges the gaps between Pop Art and Neo-Dadaism, using this reclaimed wood and creating something bright and uniquely vivacious. Mr. Polcheira’s employment of childlike colors and images is underscored and deconstructed by his usageof found and recycled materials, bringing to mind questions of childhood in the modern era and the cyclical nature of life. In many ways, the way we look at adulthood has changed, allowing us to keep and hang onto things from our youth for longer than we had been able to in the past. Jose Polcheira taps into this visceral need for the comforts of our collective infancy with their bright colors and inviting presences and asks us as viewers to look deeper; to see the ways we take pieces of our adulthood and dress them in the soft fabrics of youth.
Bold and brilliant with scintillating depth of meaning; Jose Polcheira’s relief paintings are a spectacular aesthetic treat, giving new life to recycled wood; producing not only a rich, visual language but also a deeply challenging rhetoric. His mature understanding of the trappings of childhood allows him to transmute the once discarded materials into something beautiful and truly transcendent. Uniquely vivacious and brilliant, Jose Polcheira’s repossessed wood creations are a true joy to behold, channeling the innocence and comfort of childhood and bringing it into the realm of adulthood. Celebrated in South America and the United States, Mr. Polcheira is a true contemporary master and the Amsterdam Whitney Gallery is proud to highlight his work.