gas-station window

…finished today!  The photograph I used was taken this summer.  The angle of the camera captured the nearby horizon & the inside of the store.  The pale painting suggests another result, another reading,  & another moment.

–aurelio madrid

barack obama

If anybody asked me in Feb. 07 to speculate on the possibility that Barack Obama would be our 44^th president, I would have blindly said that he didn’t have a chance.  I naively thought that America would not be ready for a black man in the White House.  I was cynical that the same country that elected W. Bush twice wouldn’t be open-minded enough to elect a man who is so different & so brilliant.  I cannot believe how happy I am to have been proven WRONG.  Perhaps we have some thanks to give to W. for causing people to say enough is enough.  Obama’s victory is not only political, but it’s also cultural.  I believe we have crossed a threshold & a reevaluation of our old ways of thinking. This victory is a rejection of the stale ways in which we’ve limited ourselves by shallow notions of black & white.  We have just witnessed a historical milestone that will be remembered for generations.  Race relations will be reexamined in a way we have never seen.  Being black in America will have a new & revitalized meaning.  I can now hope that this also signifies a new path for other minority groups in our country to stand up with pride & not be limited to an illusion of subordination & self doubt.  The United States has proven that anything is possible & we can walk among our fellow citizens & now know that a majority of them are joined together to forge a new confidence, a new vision, & a new way.  I have cried tears of joy & I’m proud to be part of this enormous change, this monumental victory!

 

Thank You Barack Obama

Thank you America

Aurelio Madrid

convex mirror

This small painting represents a convex mirror in a parking garage entrance/exit.  It could signify the desire to focus on something that’s purely functional.  Its functionality may have a certain beauty, but the mirror is not made to be admired as an aesthetic object, it’s made to see things clearly & precisely.

 

–Aurelio Madrid