A) Madonna and Child, Mixed Media on Canvas, 30” x 24”

B) Le Christ, Mixed Media on Canvas, 36” x 24”

Capla Kesting Fine Art Presents:
Miguel Paredes– B-Boys
November 9– 25, 2007
Reception for the Artist: Friday November 9 from 7:00 – 10:00 pm
121 Roebling Street (at the corner of North 5th) Brooklyn NY 11211
Bedford Ave L train Stop
Thursday – Monday from Noon until 6:00 pm
Admission is free to the public phone : 917-650-3760 http://www.caplakesting.com

For Immediate Release:

It was in the fall of 1981 when urban life as we have come to describe it was born from the street culture of the Bronx and Queens. When Run DMC and KRS ONE lead the way to a Hip Hop music revolution. While Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat validated street art culture, a young LaGuardia high school art student living on the then very dangerous Upper West Side took the name MIST to a graffiti street campaign that ran thorough all five boroughs. MIST survived those days, survived Mayor Koch, survived the Son of Sam, survived the drug epidemic, survived the Latin Kings but was ingrained with a knowledge of street art that stills shows its scars today. It is with great pleasure that, with advent of fall in New York, Capla Kesting Fine Art brings MIST back to his former home to display a collection of artworks reminiscent of this time. Not under a graffiti pseudonym but as himself, a successful Miami based businessman, a successful publisher and successful painter, as Miguel Paredes.

Miguel Paredes' boundless approach to the canvas is evident upon sight, communicated through his vibrant and eclectic artistic style; a meshing of abstracted figurative painting, rich with line drawings and floral elements. Working in mixed media, Paredes' work is energetic, sometimes frantically so.

Paredes' canvases come alive with line work, and buzz with a diverse and complex system of methodical layers. He mixes elements of stylized city scenes upon backgrounds of abstract thoughts and ideas, bold surface elements that seep into his canvas from the realms of internal expression. In his painting "Madonna and Child", flowers crawl down the canvas to frame an interior scene, as though they were painted onto a pane of glass. The flowers are symbols of our memory, in the unique way that thoughts often reveal themselves. However, unlike common depictions of the classic Madonna and Child, Paredes utilizes the urban youth symbolized by the iconic break-dancer of an age not long forgotten.

Humming with detail and infused with the electricity of the urban pulse, Paredes' paintings also include atmospheric texts. It is here that Miguel's graphic inclinations shine through, words taking on the look of messages scribed upon the surface of a photograph. Using a wide palette of color represented by both rich, solid forms, and figures composed of mingling hues, Miguel suggests a certain transparency and insight. Viscous colors often drip down Paredes' canvases, adding movement to already active planes. With white line work on black backgrounds, and colors glowing like bright neon lights, Paredes' darker paintings register as the semi-familiarity of inverted images, and the darkness of humid city nights. Here is where we see the duality of his culture. His upbringing in New York City, and life in Miami inspires this exploration of urban themes, and more particularly, provides insight into the human condition.

Miguel's exhibition, B-Boys is on view from November 9th until November 25th, with an opening night reception for the artist on Friday November 9th from 7:00 until 10:00 pm. The Gallery is located at 121 Roebling Street in Brooklyn NY. Gallery hours are Thursday to Monday from noon until 6pm.

Founded in October of 2003 by artists David Kesting and Lincoln Capla, Capla Kesting Fine Art has become synonymous with the exposure of underground artists. Created primarily as a venue to expose their work, and that of their talented group of friends CKFA has developed a reputation for their off the beaten path approach to advancing the public’s knowledge of premier talents that demand our attention.

“We’re not here making a statement. We’re just showing art we think deserves to be shown. The goal and whole idea of the place is to help bring artists that we respect and enjoy to the attention of the public.” – Capla Kesting Fine Art

Directions: Bedford Ave L train Stop. Exit the subway walking west on North 7th, away from river, 2 blocks to Roebling, then proceed south 2 blocks to North 5th. The gallery is located on the corner of North 5th and Roebling.

CKFA is sponsored by Kelso Brewery in Brooklyn and we proudly pour their beverages!