The Artist
Anthony James Rojas (AJ) is an American painter (b.1981) who lives and practices in the central region of Texas. Energized by the gestural style of Abstract Expressionism, AJ sources inspiration attempting to recreate the immediacy of expression of the unconscious mind, a concept associated with the Surrealist and Dada movements of the early 20th century. Always tapping into natural life and organic shapes consistent with the intuitive mode of Biomorphism, some have found semblance between AJ’s work and the work of late artists such as Joan Miró and Jean Arp. On the grounds of the aforementioned, AJ describes himself as an Abstractionist painter whose work sits in the gray area between Abstraction and Surrealism, and also where the viewer's imagination conjures diverse perceptions.
Engaging in Geometric Abstraction from time to time, AJ’s process typically begins with unrehearsed irregular or straight lines placed throughout the canvas. After the initial line placement, he uses his own unique perspective to look into the random lines and find the hidden images he created from his subconscious. Once the compelling lineaments are revealed, he tweaks them into form then adds dense colorations to the canvas with much thought and process.
The artist contends that an important feature of his work is to always leave a window open for the viewer to create their own experience with his art. He has always felt that the viewer's perspective of his paintings is of equal importance as his own. Therefore, while he paints he works around the canvas creating relevant perspectives depending on its orientation. As he describes it in his own words “I create the art, but you create the experience”.
The Rocks
Beauty is everywhere, therefore art is everywhere. If you look a little deeper in some obvious places you can find beautiful images inside of ordinary objects. Utilizing the psychological phenomenon’s of Pareidolia and Mimetolith, I have discovered a form of art that lies in-between the worlds of painting and sculpture. By using rocks as my canvas it forces me to give up some of my artistic free will and allow the rocks natural shape and features to dictate what is being presented on it. Looking at random naturally formed and eroded limestone rock, I find some everyday or abstract images, and bring them to life with color and context. I see things that you would see at the depths of the seas, to mountain tops, trees, and everything in between. The rocks aren’t chiseled or sculpted to create the image, but instead created when the rock is formed and eroded over time or when naturally formed rocks are broken without purpose. The images seen on my rocks are random and exist on the rocks prior yet go unnoticed until I add paint to reveal them. Swiss German Artist Paul Klee sums it up best. "Art does not reproduce the visible, rather, makes visible".
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Immediate Expression
Baker Center For The Arts at Muhlenberg College
Allentown, PA
April 3 - August 18 2023
https://www.muhlenberg.edu/gallery/
Group Exhibitions
Reflections of Salado
Cultural Activities Center
Temple, Tx
September 2020
Events
NAMI “Speak Up”: An Evening of Creative Expression
May 18th 2023
Austin, Tx
Namicentraltx.org
https://youtu.be/DetWI-9Sws0
Press Articles