Osvaldo Trujillo

Of Our Time

April 15 – May 27, 2017
Artist Reception: Saturday, April 15, 2017, 4 – 7 p.m.

For his third solo exhibition at CB1 Gallery, we are pleased to present Of Our Time, Osvaldo Trujillo’s exhibition of painted and laser cut acrylic. This exhibition marks at once a new direction in Trujillo’s work and a return to a medium he has used in the past, integrating technology into his practice. As in his late 90’s through the early 2000’s work, the computer is a prime tool in his art-making process but the new work also uses digital processes along with the use of the laser cutter. The exhibition will be on view from April 15 through May 27, 2017. The gallery will host a reception for the artist on Saturday, April 15 from 4 – 7 p.m.

The questions Trujillo asks in his new body of work include: What happens when machines can do most physical tasks better than any human could? Will we soon need to deal with questions like this in many areas of our lives? The issues and problems are extremely complex and the processes for resolving them are more than likely not peaceful. Reflecting this in the work for his exhibition, the pieces reference concepts on a macro scale, the topography of cities, the intricate connections of global computer networks, the complex structure of digital viruses. They reflect a new era, a new era of chaos.

Mesmerized by the laser cutter when he first saw it at work, Trujillo knew it was something he wanted to explore and make art with. It quietly and smoothly moved across the work surface cutting and engraving with a speed and precision that the greatest human craftsman could never attain with a lifetime of practice. The artist realized that this device, along with other technologies like 3D printing, robotics etc. had reached a price point where they are now affordable to a mass consumer-market, represented the beginning of a new era of technological production that will rival the industrial revolution in its ability to transform our lives and this planet. While he was elated about this idea and the wonders we will create, the more he contemplated this the more he dreaded the monsters it would bring.

Osvaldo Trujillo is a visual artist and professor, based in Los Angeles. In addition to past exhibitions at CB1 Gallery, his work has been shown at POST Gallery, Peggy Phelps Gallery, Art FrankFurt, Germany. He is currently represented by CB1 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. Trujillo graduated with an MFA from Claremont Graduate University, Los Angeles and teaches at at USC.

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