Portfolio
Gerardo Garduño – Drawings

Eternal love, 2015 Watercolor, Ink, Acrylic paint / Paper 6 x 9 in This drawing is presented in a capsule, like medicine, as a perfect dosage of love. This piece was inspired by a legend where a beautiful Mayan princess was already engaged, but falls in love with another man. They swear eternal and endless love under the sacred Ceiba tree. When they are discovered the young man is condemned to death, but the princess pleads for his life to be spared. The King is moved by her cries and allows him to live, with the help of the shaman, converts him into a beetle, covers the beetle in gold and gems, as a precious jewel. The princess pins him to her heart so they can be together forever.

The Seer Pencil, Ink / Paper 22 x 30 in 2014 I am a great admirer of the works of William Blake, for that reason, my inspiration for this drawing was when I was reading his poem: Auguries of Innocence. In particular this verse: To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour….. Complete poem Here

Magic Kingdom (Triptych) Ink, Acrylic paint, Pencil, Clay / Paper 29 x 12 x 1 in 2014 SOLD Where is this place? It is the place that every human being saved somewhere on your dreams. These dreams that spring evening as spring water, day by day. The dreamer thinks, takes a look at infinity, on occasion, he is distracted but always attentive and smiling at the smallest sign of humanity.

Daydreaming. Ink, Pencil, Acrylic paint / Paper 16 x 20 in 2014 • Blick Art Show 2014,(1st Place winner), Cambridge, MA Where is this place? It is the place that every human being saved somewhere on your dreams. These dreams that spring evening as spring water, day by day. The dreamer thinks, takes a look at infinity, on occasion, he is distracted but always attentive and smiling at the smallest sign of humanity.

The Unifilter Acrylic paint, Pencil, Ink / Paper 22 x 30 in 2013 This drawing begins with the division of the space into three sections: a type of sky, earth and underworld. I wanted it to have a connection between reality and fantasy through a series of characters, two realistically drawn girls and an articulated mannequin. The sky is represented as an unknown, immense space where we can just barely see something imperceptible. The earth is condensed into graphics showing the organic aspects. We see the mannequin on a heavy base, where I wanted to reflect the strength of this mannequin for belonging to reality, although it remains expressionless. On the other hand, the girl feels something for the mannequin’s suffering, extending her hand as a show of support. The underworld just looks likes an empty space, perhaps something could exist in the depths, an enigma that inspires us but that we don’t know. In general I used the repetition of patterns and perspective to explore the possibilities of the space

Intervention of the Space Acrylic paint, Ink, Pencil / Paper 20 x 28 in 2013 1- Intervention of the space” has been chosen to be exhibited in Art of the State: Pennsylvania 2014 at The Museum of Pennsylvania. His drawing was one of 122 pieces chosen out of 1,800 submissions for a major statewide art exhibit! 2- Intervention of a space was selected for the 2013 juried visual art competition and exhibition, featuring two-dimensional figurative artists working in painting, drawing or printmaking on Lore Degenstein Gallery. Susquehanna University, PA This drawing was inspired by the idea of drawing myself doing another activity that I’ve recently learned (tattooing). It also seemed like another way of approaching those who are interested in my work and illustrating this at the same time. While I don’t know if anyone else needs to know who I am or what I do, I felt the need to express this. Need sometimes grows out of an absence, and occasionally this absence can be diminished by covering it with an object in a space and/or with an idea in the mind. That, for me, is and “intervention of a space”.

Fisherman of Illusions Acrylic paint, Pencil, Ink / Paper 20 x 28 in 2013 “Fisherman of Illusions” were selected for this jured exposition in the 2014 Salon Show at The Gallery 4. Pittsburgh Fisherman of Illusions combines geometric perspective with fun and irrationality. The organic Art Nouveau design framing the drawing grows out of a more rigid, geometric base. It functions as decoration as well as creating the effect of looking through a window, behind which another window or world may lie. I worked from a different viewpoint than in other drawings, using the three central discs to divide the space and create the perspective. On the bottom disc stand a man with his hands in the air who believes he is a god and can do anything, but ultimately he’s just a man on a wooden stand. The surrealist disc in the middle represent expectations, featuring a hand in the middle of throwing the disc on which it sits, with the eye watching and waiting. The men are hiding their feelings behind their backs. The top disc supports the indigenous face and lilies recycled from a previous drawing, with modern glasses lightening what might be a more serious image. Scattered throughout the drawing are small people, each believing in their own illusion. On the bottom left of the drawing and the top right are men who think they can fly. On the top left, a man fishes for a shark one of the inspirations for the title.

Expansion Acrylic paint, Pencil, Ink / Paper 20 x 28 in 2012 “Expansion” blends sacred geometry with Mexican cultural symbols. The space is divided into various universes, each of which plays with both rational and irrational geometric images to create a sense of harmony, expansion, and/or depth. The black background, which was the last step of this drawing and done with acrylic paint, provides a visual sense of emptiness, depth and intensity that I like. The pregnant women in the drawing represent the cycle of life; if you look closely, their bodies together also form the shape of a skull. Similarly, the leaves on the tree of life at the bottom of the drawing are skulls, forming another cycle. The dragon can represent the space in our minds where both reality and fantasy exist.

Construction Acrylic paint, Ink, Pencil / Paper 20 x 28 in 2013 I lived in such a big city for my whole life up until recently that while I learned how to navigate the city and where to find things, I never completely knew it. This is my homage to the city and those who built it and continue to build it. I included a series of basic elements such as the division of space and the formation of the structures. I liked the idea of continuing to work with perspective and the mysterious and three-dimensional results that occur. The idea was to create a series of four cities, practically one on top of the other, that would represent the social hierarchy that exists in the real world. The first and largest (at the bottom) has diverse spaces that reflect this class structure with larger, more solid buildings on one side, while the other side shows poverty and the desire for comfort and well-being. I wanted to give the city vitality through the movement and repeated patterns in the structures. I also incorporated the 3D typography I used when I did graffiti years ago. The second and third cities in the center of the drawing are on a rigid metal base supported by a pair of legs representing the strength of the work and some skulls as a representation of the cost of the work. The fourth city, sustained in the air by a hummingbird, is the ideal city, the desire, the unattainable.

Civilizations Acrylic paint, Pencil, Ink / Paper 22 x 30 in 2013 This drawing was an excellent introduction to the artistic elements that the curator of the exhibition that I had in June 2013 taught me during the year leading up to the show. An analysis and review of aspects of the production of my work and the methodology led me to question the origin of my work and style and grow in new directions. The drawing is divided in three planes: the city (where I’ve lived my whole life), the geometric plane representing XXX, and the moon and hummingbird in the back. Both the character on the moon and the hummingbird, the representation of deceased Aztec warriors, carrying the infinity symbol, made me think in the past and the present. I constructed the city with the idea of creating a trip for those looking at this work. I was also inspired by the work of M.C. Escher, who I greatly admire. The city is full of symbols and things that represent elements of Mexican culture and other personal ideas. Between the optical illusions, one can find a frog that could also be an octopus, a fish or maybe a horse; a roof made of fingernails; and the lives of the people inhabiting a building, among other images. The city below is where we all find ourselves, where ideas grow, end, or transform, and where people live with themselves and interact with others. With its own personality, each building is elevated with small details that make it alive.

Axes Found Pencil, Acrylic paint, Ink / Paper 28 x 40 in 2013 This drawing begins with a flower-like mandala. I used a different composition of a geometric structure that I’ve used in other drawings. The idea was to visually express both the micro and macro expansion. The central drawing is created from two carriages that connect in counter position to the axes, creating an interesting effect of depth. Each of these carriages is formed from various objects, filled with symbols, that fit perfectly and precisely in their space. Two such objects are the pyramid, the symbol of construction, and the eye, the symbol of Horus as well as a representation of the great architect of the universe. Ultimately, they only exist, represent, and provide a sense of individual and collective identity.

Point on white Light Acrylic paint, Ink, Pencil / Paper 14 x 20 in 2012 “Point on White Light” is essentially my interpretation of the experience of meditation. Often when I’ve been told to close my eyes and visualize a point of white light. When I tried, my mind filled with thoughts of everything I hadn’t done yet and that I would have to do after the session. The pattern growing from the figure at the bottom represents these thoughts and simultaneously creates the shape of a brain.
All work ©2020 by Gerardo Garduño
♣ The pictures are in reverse chronological order from 2020⇒2005