Today we’d like to introduce you to Pedro Igrez.
Pedro, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I am a self-taught artist and have been creating art since my youth. My work is connected to the natural essence of the world around me. Utilizing organic materials and discarded items, from wood to coffee grinds, I deconstruct imagery to evoke nostalgic memories from my hometown. I grew up in a small rural community in Mexico and moved to the border, then Chicago, for growth and self-discovery.
I miss the smell of home – the wet ground, the grass – and I miss the easy living without all the pretending of the city, and this what my work represents. I recreate these fleeting memories in tangible form to express who I am. My collection of work that recoups fading memories before they depart to an unreachable place. These ideas come to me in flashes, like images from a short silent film, as if the words do not exist and only the visual matters. They are images of my nostalgia, fleeting both fast and slow, moving and still. Some stay longer, but all are marching in strange synchronicity toward deep, dark chambers of lost memories. These moments are given shape, color, and texture that preserves them in abstracted form, safekeeping them from time.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I have found passion in discovering artistry and beauty in raw materials within reach. It’s not only oil paint bought in an art supply store that can create the strokes of a painting but using these found materials can also create beautiful imagery. The texture and raw aspects of organic materials provide a unique textural footprint that inspires me. I have found images emerge in the stain of wine and coffee, or the grit and texture of concrete. For example, I see the potential in a rusted piece of metal or an old door because it offers possibilities of deconstructing and constructing. For these reason, I use these found objects and materials as my media to create a truly organic nature to my work. Keeping my mind and eye open to the ability of an object or substance to be used has helped me to maintain a primitive element to my art that is unique and connected to my surroundings.
What would you recommend to an artist new to the city, or to art, in terms of meeting and connecting with other artists and creatives?
My advice would be to maybe volunteer at an art center or even better have your studio there, to be surrounded by another artist. This helps with exchanging ideas, inspiration and support.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I am currently represented by Jackson Junge Gallery in Chicago (J2gallery.com), ACS Gallery on artsy (artsy.net/artist/Pedro-Igrez) and pedroigrez.com.. Please check my website for upcoming exhibits.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1345 S Wabash Ave Unit 512
Chicago, IL 60605 - Website: www.pedroigrez.com
- Phone: 773-941-9151
- Email: pedro@pedroigrez.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pedroigrez/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pedroigrez/
Image Credit:
Photos taken by Pedro Igrez and Geraldine Rodriguez.
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