migration
Ba Zasa (Return) / 2022-2024
The series of paintings developed by Mazal during the Covid pandemic (Full Circle 2020), reflect a contained space, geometric shapes with sharp lines and dark colors. In contrast, the new series Migration/Ba Zasa (Return) represent movement and freedom. Which are characterized by sinewy rivulets of thick white paint, that transform the flat surface into a three-dimensional, textile-like material. A unique physical intensity can be felt in Mazal's painterly response to the end of the pandemic. The gestures on the paintings can be interpret as birds migrating or musical notes that create what has been described as a visual equivalent to contemporary classical music.
The title Ba Zasa, meaning “return” in a Zapotec language, emerged from Mazal’s collaboration with Zapotec artisans and resonates on both a symbolic and personal level. The series coincided with the moment when Mazal and his family decided to return to Mexico, the artist’s country of origin.
Installation View of Ba Zasa Red Lake 4 (Triptych), 2024. Commission for Peninsula Hotel Lobby, New York.
installation views
Installation View of BA ZASA RED LAKE 4 (Triptych), 2024. Commission for Peninsula Hotel Lobby, New York.
Installation view of BA ZASA (RETURN), Seminario de Cultura Mexicana, Mexico City, 2024.
Installation view of BA ZASA (RETURN), Seminario de Cultura Mexicana, Mexico City, 2024.
Installation view of BA ZASA (RETURN), Seminario de Cultura Mexicana, Mexico City, 2024.
Installation View of BA ZASA, artist's studio, Santa Fe, NM, 2023.
Installation View of BA ZASA, artist's studio, Santa Fe, NM, 2023.
Installation View of RICARDO MAZAL: BA ZASA, RETURN, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Chelsea, New York, 2023.
Installation View of RICARDO MAZAL: BA ZASA, RETURN, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Chelsea, New York, 2023.
Installation View of RICARDO MAZAL: BA ZASA, RETURN, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Chelsea, New York, 2023.
Installation View of RICARDO MAZAL: BA ZASA, RETURN, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Chelsea, New York, 2023.
Installation view of Ba Zasa Triptych, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, Chelsea, 2023.
SELECTED WORKS
MIGRACION 1, 2024. Oil on linen 83 x 140 inches (210.8 x 355.6 cm).
MIGRACION No. 2, No. 4, No. 3, 2022. Oil on linen 40 x 52 inches (101.5 x 132 cm).
BA ZASA BLUE VIOLET 1, 2023. Oil on linen 72 x 110 inches (183 x 279.5 cm).
BA ZASA No. 1 and No. 2, 2023. Oil on linen, 72 x 78 inches (182.9 x 198.1 cm).
BA ZASA YABA 1, 2024. Oil on linen 78.5 x 90.5 inches (199.4 x 229.9 cm).
BA ZASA, 2023. Oil On Linen 55 x 43 inches (140 x 110 cm).
BA ZASA RED LAKE No. 1 and No. 2, 2023. Oil on linen, 37 x 50 inches (94 x 127 cm).
BA ZASA GREEN 1, BA ZASA GREY 2, BA ZASA GREEN 2, 2023. Oil on linen, 37 x 50 inches (94 x 127 cm); 48 x 50 inches (122 x 127 cm).
In dialogue with the rest of the paintings is a second body of smaller-scale acrylic paintings on handmade silk inspired by an encounter with artisan Moises Martínez and his family who are dedicated to silk production in a remote mountain village in Oaxaca, southern Mexico. Mazal was surprised to discover fragments of dyed silk which looked almost identical to some of his paintings and soon decided to experiment with silk as a sort of canvas. Mazal visited the village of San Pedro Cajonos, and immersed himself in the process of raising silkworms, spinning and weaving the silk, then finally coloring the fabric using dyes made of natural materials including flowers, tree bark and indigo. Similar to his other series of paintings, he added thick textured white brushstrokes onto the surface of the silk. What resulted is a series of intimate silk paintings infused with a sense of dynamism and movement.
SILK PROJECT
Detail of acrylic on hand-dyed silk on aluminum panel
