This week we welcome Pedro J. Baez, a Venezuelan-born artist creating his own lane of pop-surrealism across a variety of mediums ranging from painting and sculpture, to 3D animation and tattooing. Born in Venezuela in 1989 and settled in the U.S. in 1997, Baez’s journey from an immigrant child to an artist is underpinned by a deep curiosity and admiration for the diverse cultures that shape the world. His transition to a new country sparked an early interest in the history of art and the role of immigrants in crafting societies, which later evolved into a diverse exploration of artistic techniques and mediums as he moved to New York in 2012 to further his practice at the Cooper Union. This exploration led Baez to adopt a scientific approach to art, seeking to understand how color and form can unite to convey complex ideas and emotions.
In his recent work, Baez ventures into the abstract, drawing inspiration from theoretical physics and concepts like the collective consciousness, the multiverse, and quantum theory. He questions the origins of ideas and imagines how elements from our world could exist in alternate realities, employing a pictorial language that intertwines colors and shapes into a controlled chaos that challenges viewers to reconsider their perceptions.
His art, characterized by tongue-in-cheek depictions of pop culture and references to Latin American culture, invites audiences into a world where the boundaries of reality are blurred, encouraging a childlike curiosity towards the universe and the unseen. Baez’s first solo exhibition offers a unique opportunity to engage with his imaginative works, which are not only a reflection of his personal journey but also an invitation to explore the unknown and ponder the endless possibilities that lie within our imaginations.
“[A character named] Atomo came to be the central protagonist in this work as a launch pad for investigating concepts dealing in physics and philosophy,” says the artist. “Representing that which cannot be divided, Atomo exists somewhere between the physical world and the subconscious mind as a vessel for exploration and discovery of unseen worlds. As the personification of an atom, Atomo embodies the matter which makes up the entirety of our reality but remains imperceptible in our human experience. Thus, this character has become a way for me to explore worlds that can only be traversed only through the subconscious mind, and bring the discoveries to life in paintings, sculptures, and other creative expressions. Each piece is created as an amalgamation of forms and styles, uniting in a symphony of controlled chaos. Surrealism, tongue-in-cheek pop art, street art, and abstract expressionism come together as different instruments to attune the viewer to a similar state of mind to the one in which the art was conceived.”
