NEW YORK.-On Wednesday, November 7, 2007, Doyle New York will hold an auction of Modern and Contemporary Art, including Latin American Art. The sale will showcase paintings, drawings and sculpture by important European, American, Latin American and Asian artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Featured will be works by Armando Morales and Angel Botello, as well as Tamayo, Altamirano, O’Higgins, De Szszlo and Pelaez. The public is invited to the exhibition on view from Saturday, November 3 through Tuesday, November 6. Doyle New York is located at 175 East 87th Street in Manhattan.

Highlighting the selection of Latin American Art is a 1974 work, Mujeres, by Armando Morales (Nicaraguan, b. 1927). Mujeres reveals Armando Morales’ talent for capturing the luscious textures of the human form. Reflecting the artist’s mature style, the painting depicts four female nudes in an imaginary landscape. Morales began exhibiting paintings of nudes in 1971, and this painting is a strong, early example of this phase in his career. In Mujeres, the curves of the nudes are outlined against a background constructed of geometric forms. The primarily flat composition creates a playful barrier between the object and the audience. The nudes are only partially visible, their faces and bodies obscured by color, line and shadow. The heads of the figures at the far right are hidden by a dark vortex that echoes the shape of a seashell, and their legs appear encased in the landscape. Indeed, it is impossible to discern whether these mysterious women are emerging from the background or disappearing into it. Finally, Morales’ use of a wax medium lends both figures and forms a uniform texture and soft sheen.

Another notable work is Three Figures by Angel Botello (Puerto Rican, 1913-1986). In Three Figures, we see Botello’s skill in rendering traditional themes with a daring palette, simplified forms and strong geometric elements. These techniques yield works that incorporate the quaint quality of traditional Caribbean folk art with the psychological ideologies of modern influences, like Kandinsky, that were prevalent during the artist’s career. The painting depicts three young girls at play. These figures are outlined against a lush plane of color broken up by line. Botello’s establishes a tension between the figures and background that lends an incredible energy to the work. The bluish color of the background is visible beneath the vibrant pinks, purples and reds of the girls’ dresses, firmly anchoring the figures to the surface. Yet, the lines that break up the background surround the figures in a way that propels them forward. Finally, the painting is intensified by a richly textured surface that is characteristic of Botello’s work.