San Diego Mesa College*
Art Gallery {welcome!

Entangoed Memories:
a visual journey from the streets of Buenos Aires to the beaches of La Jolla
September 2-30, 2008

Entangoed Memories is a one-man show of paintings that vibrantly capture the contrasting worlds of local artist Alfredo Antognini. Antognini was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, birthplace of the tango. Its sinuous music and movements still haunt his memory and his paintings, although by now he has lived almost half of his life in the San Diego area. He and his wife first arrived here in 1977 fleeing the brutal military regime that caused the "disappearance" of many of their close friends. Alfredo, an accomplished painter who had studied at the School of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires, marveled at his new surroundings. Living in a small apartment near La Jolla Cove, he painted the sun worshippers on the sand who relaxed, oblivious to the larger world.

But he never forgot the Buenos Aires of his youth, and he captures its smoke-filled clubs full of tango singers, dancers, and bandoneon players. He also fondly remembers his childhood home, where domestic workers were a more constant presence than parents. He pays them homage, painting them not at work but on their day off: seated pensively on stiff chairs or lounging nude in the intimacy of a bath or bed. Alfredo's portraits of men run the gamut from powerful, sensual tango dancers to gardeners, beach boys, and young studs preening in front of a mirror.

Alfredo attended Catholic schools as well as receiving a Ph.D. in philosophy, so his use of religious symbols ranges from the relatively benign to the politically furious -- driven by the role that the church played in Argentina when the generals were in power and the behavior of pedophile priests.

And then there are his numerous still-lifes, colorful bounty of peppers, onions, lemons, pears, and pomegranates. He is a unique and superb colorist. An exuberant orange wall or a shimmering pink dress draws the eye first, then releases us into the rest of the painting's detail and depth. Above all, his work has a vibrancy one never tires of looking at, and that refreshes one's eyes for seeing the world around us.

Alfredo Antognini lives and paints in South Park, San Diego.