The artwork of Frank Gonzales comes from a place of pure honesty. An artist with a steely determination, Gonzales considers resisting the temptation to overthink his imagery a central focus. Responding to external stimuli from his nearby Arizonian surroundings and coupling this with his fascination for nature (botany and ornithology in particular), he simultaneously constructs and deconstructs during his creative process in order to generate visuals which occupy a space somewhere between artificiality and realism.
The end results provide the viewer with captivating reinterpretations of classical subjects that combine stunning realism with planes of fragmented abstraction, which draw as much inspiration from contemporary graphic design as they do from the magnificent works of the Old Masters.
“My work is about taking reference from various sources including books, the net and photos to comprise and create my own imagery. By creating my paintings through reference or made up elements, there becomes a play between artificiality and realism. I like to combine elements that may seem believable picture wise, but wouldn’t normally thrive in real life.
My compositions are never thought out much beforehand. I like the spontaneity of starting with a background color or single image as a jump off point for the rest of the painting. One image will spark another and the process takes shape from there. I find this way of working to be both exciting and uncertain. My various marks and color glitches mimic this uncertainty resulting in visual stillness and movement.”
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