Ivo Perelman
April 8 - May 7, 2005
The natural affinity of music and visual art has rarely ever been expressed as vividly as in the visual imagery created by noted jazz saxophonist, Ivo Perelman. Born 12/01/1961 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he came to the United States in 1981 to pursue a musical career. He has performed to great acclaim in jazz festivals and concerts around the world and has recorded 26 CDs. His music, a unique form of free jazz, translates itself into the striking Abstract Expressionism of his painted imagery.
Just as his music evolves out of his liberation from musical convention, his imagery dispenses with traditional artistic conventions and expresses the raw energy, which creates each painting. The intense flows and abrupt breaks of sound that emerge from his saxophone are reborn as zigzagging lines of color, splashed on canvas. Some of his paintings are full of agitated energy, while others are more lyrical, creating a visual moment of near silence. Instead of working from a preconceived artistic idea, Perelman lets the flowing, skittering, dancing paint lead him on. Each painting is like a performance, a set of actions in time that can happen in that particular way only once, embodying the sound of his music through the stroke of the paint brush. The notes become vibrant colors and the rhythm transcends into shape. He passionately unravels the most vivid emotions, whether playing the saxophone or approaching the canvas. There are no limits or restraints as his method of expression relies not on planning but solely on the flow of feelings. His desire for painting stems from the depths of his soul with the ardent yearnings.
From articles by Eleanor Heartney, New York City based art critic and contributing editor to Art in America.
