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Jackson Hole News and Guide

By Tibby Plasse

 


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JUAN CARLOS COLLADA, A River Runs Through It,

Hand Painted Feathers on Linen Panel, Mounted behind Acrylic Panel, 36” x 72”

Appreciating lepidopterans takes a different form in “The Language of Color,” a new show by Diehl Gallery artist Juan Carlos Collada.

 

Collada’s kaleidoscopes — the name for a butterfly swarm — are luminous and delicate. Capturing the spirit of flight, Collada’s multilayered sculptures are precise studies in shape, and in this show especially, color.

 

“The delicate butterflies contradict their fragility with bold colors, made impactful when grouped in fluid and geometric forms,” Diehl’s operations director, Isabel McDowall said in an email. “It’s admirable the level of skill and patience required to craft each individual butterfly. The vast gestalt configurations Collada can imagine results in works greater than the sum of their parts.”

 

This is Collada’s second solo show at the gallery, and McDowall added that it is always fascinating to see what new combinations the Miami native will create.

 

In an interview with American Art Collector, Collada said “color is everything” to him. It also reminds him of his childhood, as his mother embroidered a butterfly onto his jean jacket. “It always had special meaning to me,” he said.

 

Another major influence Collada has credited for inspiring his installations is Japanese sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988). 

 

Noguchi’s sculptures are minimal, playful and often described as harmonious, a concept driven by the idea that anything can be sculpture including furniture and landscape. That concept is also delivered through Collada’s painted turkey and goose feathers that are nailed to linen-covered fiberboard.

 

The butterflies in “The Language of Color” are not just iridescent. They exude an airiness and positivity that, despite the meticulously affixed placement and shape, has wonder and nostalgia imbued in the mechanical components of Collada’s work.

 

The gallery’s show description said that “Mr. Collada himself is often inspired by color combinations that he was drawn to as a child — whether from an old toy or something experienced in nature.”

 

Interestingly enough, the Greek word for butterfly is psyche, the same word used for soul. There is no doubt that Collada’s hyperrealistic subject matter has soul.

 

The nonprofit beneficiary for this show is Jackson Hole Therapeutic Riding. Collada’s show will be up through the Fall Arts Festival. An artist reception is set for 5-8 p.m. Thursday. 

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