GR gallery reveals “Gatekeeper”, a distinctive duo exhibition of new works by Daniel Núñez and Jason Pulgarin. For their first show together, after previous individual presentations with the gallery, they have engaged in a close dialogue inspired by the complexity, the hypocrisy and the aberrations of the contemporary art world, and market in particular, ruled by an elusive protector. A specific focus is directed towards the struggle of the artist in finding inspiration, overcoming doubts, fighting against procrastination and nervousness and identifying a balance in between style and concept. The distinctive styles of Núñez and Pulgarin, which accidentally already shared few spontaneous hints inspired by a complementary background, are now consolidated through the investigation of this socially and culturally relevant theme close to both artist. They encounter and confront each other in a discussion that resolves in the mutual accentuation of the other one artworks.

“Gatekeeper” puts together a total of sixteen artworks on canvas in various size, appositely created for this occasion by the artists. Jason will also present a group of small ceramic sculptures, based on the same theme, in the gallery project room.

The concept of this exhibition aims to react against a distorted and traditionally accepted condition that grants admission to the exclusive art community, success and acknowledgment only to those artists who pay tributes and play according the rules, the dynamics and the trends dictated by powerful figures. In this regard Núñez and Pulgarin keep developing and pushing beyond the boundaries their unique techniques into a progressive spiral that makes them the sole “Gatekeepers” of their art style/world. Daniel Nunez uses a variety of symbols surrounding his images to represent his own reality under a particular and intuitive perspective, elicited from dreamlike and spontaneous processes that are supported by his daily evolution. His interest in discovering new objects and materials affects the subjective meaning that gives him the context reflected in the integrity of his work. For Nuñez, minimalist language is the force that establishes new ideas for the representation of the intangible in the material. His experimentation on the media is the result of constant learning and an almost obsessive need to create. His personal goal is the development of his own language, the aim of which is to reflect on the traditional discourse of painting, creating a new narrative.

Pulgarin is both ruminative and barreling through his preoccupations to get to the stuff of creating, his characteristic bold color and enveloping shapes functioning as that momentum; he is chastised by crabs–embodiments of his ties to his past and childhood–as he creates in his studio; or anxiously puffing a cigarette beneath the imposing index finger of the hand of the art market. Totems of his childhood in New York Latino appear throughout the series as he calls out the appetite for marginalized artists. The reception is overdue, but Pulgarin asks: is it sincere? Is it possible to incorporate ethnic and racialized identities in work on artists’ own terms—to flesh out their backgrounds in ways that are organic, without taking pains to explain the specificity to voyeurs? The exhibition is coherent in itself, with each component of the works serving the purpose of representing the artist’s worries, humor, sentimentality, and indignation. These facets righteously consume every inch of this series, along with his searing gaze through all the social systems that make them ill at ease.

GR gallery
Daniel Núñez – Jason Pulgarin: “GATEKEEPER”
September 9th, 2023 - September 30th, 2023
Opening Reception, Friday September 8th, 2023, 6:00 - 8:00 pm