Exhibition on view:
March 15th - 17th, 2024

Artist:
Pedro J Baez

Hosted by:
Subjective Art Collective

Location:
LUME Studios
393 Broadway
New York, NY

*The Indivisible Atomo by Pedro J Baez is on view at LUME Studios in partnership with Subjective*

What if all the ideas of the collective consciousness were floating around us, waiting to be grabbed and brought to our tangible reality? What if our world was a playground for the subconscious mind? What if we could see inspiration?

On Thursday March 14th, the artist-led collective Subjective hosted an intimate event for the first look at Pedro Baez’s inaugural solo show, The Indivisible Atomo. The exhibition is on view at Tribeca’s LUME Studios, where I got to meet the brilliant artist and see his new collection. Large-scale oil paintings, 3D-designed sculptures, and digital works welcome us to Atomo’s colorful world where several planes of reality exists in a geometric realm of inspiration, right here, among us.

The exhibition features the Venezuelan-American pop-surrealist artist’s new collection that’s recognizable for its prime colors, geometric shapes, and disfigured faces of Atomo’s world.

“Atomo came to be the central protagonist in my work through experimenting with pop cultural character tropes as a launch pad for investigating concepts dealing in physics & philosophy. Representing that which cannot be divided, Atomo exists somewhere between the physical world and the subconscious mind as a vessel for exploration and discovery of unseen worlds.”

— From Artist Statement

Atomo is Baez’s eccentric alter ego – his hair looks like two upward-facing C’s, symbolizing collective consciousness; his ears are big, round, and expressive; and his hands are often white-gloved, flipping the world off.

Walking into the space, we are welcomed by a painting that’s reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper – A Celestial Supper depicts the famous scene in Atomo’s realm. The center figure is surrounded by his followers and meticulius details that conceive this world. I was left in awe by the distinct facial expressions these geometric figures demonstrate – confused, judgmental, angry, demeaning, and in love.

When I praised Baez for this work, he started telling me about how the classical painting represents the Sun with the twelve constellations. He pointed out the details in his work that represent the collective consciousness from atomic levels to celestial bodies and everything in between. His eyes light up with excitement when he ponders on divine wisdom, and how it finds expression in his art as well as in Renaissance paintings, or in thousand-year records of Mayan calendars. I didn’t need much convincing to join his amazement towards these artful representations of the subconscious mind.

“As the personification of an atom, Atomo embodies the matter which makes up the entirety of our reality but remains imperceptible in our human experience. Thus, this character has become a way for me to explore worlds that can only be traversed only through the subconscious mind, and bring the discoveries to life in paintings, sculptures, and other creative expressions.”

— From Artist Statement

Baez calls ears the snails in our head. When I asked him why Atomo’s ears are significantly big and round, Pedro was eager to talk about it. He started telling me about the wonders of our ears, how the pineal gland “sees” light through our ears, and how these weirdly shaped organs are crucial yet often overlooked. They are the eyes of our subconscious mind.

The lower level of the gallery is devoted to Pedro’s digital works, which are the result of a rather new medium for the artist. I asked him about creating 3D digital artwork after years of oil painting on canvas, and specifically about his experience with lighting. Usually, a painter uses darker colors to create shadows that give a sense of depth. However, when using 3D software, the artist can simply place a “light source” within the 3D space alongside the object, and the software generates shadows and glares based on physical rules.

Baez chuckled and admitted that it has been a humbling experience, because he realized that his shadowing wasn’t always accurate. His modest honesty aside, hearing about the lighting “errors” in his works added another layer of personality to his art. Atomo’s world isn’t about seeking perfection or achieving excellent accuracy – it’s a colorful and joyful playground of possibility.

Furthermore, Baez’s art hopes to urge people to not take art, or life, too seriously. Keep childlike curiosity. Have fun. Share a laugh. That’s why a good amount of artworks depict Atomo with his middle finger up in the air – he doesn’t believe in suppressing emotions, any emotions.

The artist describes the recurring imagery as a response to human disease – “dis + ease,” he points out, explaining how we get sick because we don’t let our emotions pass with ease. We bottle them up until we are no longer at ease. Atomo doesn’t.

“Each piece is created as an amalgamation of forms and styles, uniting in a symphony of controlled chaos. Surrealism, tongue-in-cheek pop art, street art, and abstract expressionism come together as different instruments to attune the viewer to a similar state of mind to the one in which the art was conceived.”

— From Artist Statement

Baez plays with style within his artworks, mixing realism with pop to hint at the juxtaposition of our tangible reality with ideas from the divine consciousness. The paintings that depict Baez’s signature pop geometric shapes in a realistic landscape are a wonderful representation of how inspiration comes in nature.

You’re walking in a beautiful forest following a stream down a path covered in lush green, and all of a sudden, you get an idea – it’s a great one and it’s crazy that it wasn’t in your consciousness before. As if it was floating around you, waiting for you to grab it and bring it to our tangible reality.

Visit the exhibition with an open mind and open heart, and Baez’s art will make sure to bring inspiration to your conscious reality.

About the Artist

“Pedro Baez is a Venezuelan-American artist creating his own lane of pop-surrealism across a variety of mediums ranging from painting, sculpture, digital drawing, 3D animation, and tattooing. Born in Venezuela in 1989 and immigrating to the United States in 1997, Pedro's journey from an immigrant child to an artist is underpinned by a deep curiosity and admiration for the diverse cultures that shape the world.

His transition to a new country sparked an early interest in the history of art and the role of immigrants in crafting societies, which later evolved into a diverse exploration of artistic techniques and mediums as he moved to New York in 2012 to further his practice at Cooper Union. This exploration led Pedro to adopt a scientific approach to art, seeking to understand how color and form can unite to convey complex ideas and emotions.”

About Subjective

Subjective is a creative network based in NYC, uplifting the next generation of artists, tastemakers, & communities defining contemporary art and internet culture. Founded in January 2023, with the support of LUME Studios, Subjective is an artist-led exhibition and production space for an international community of artists from a broad range of disciplines. With a focus on experimentation in new media art and performance, they curate exhibitions, workshops, panels, and performances to bring together the brightest minds in internet culture and digital art.

About LUME Studios

LUME Studios is a leading experiential design studio and gallery located in TriBeCa, New York. Founded in 2016 by Dotan Negrin, LUME Studios serves as a hub for artists and creatives to connect, collaborate and showcase their work. Through the use of high end visual software, projection mapping, and spatial audio, the venue and creative services are tailored to enable their clients to tell visually dynamic and engaging stories that resonate with audiences. LUME Studios also produces experiences and commercials for global brands including Apple, JetBlue, Amazon, Adidas, Olay, and Bombay Sapphire, to name a few.