THE wind
Bhutan Abstracto / 2013 - 2015
When Mazal and his family accepted an invitation to visit a friend in Bhutan in 2014, the motion and color of the ubiquitous prayer flags blowing in the wind struck him immediately. Mazal’s video stills and photographs of these symbols of cosmic hope became the basis for a new series of paintings titled Butan Abstracto, as well as his first interactive new media installation of the same name.
Bhutan becomes the site for an eloquent afterward to Mazal’s Trilogy. And the series is fittingly are a response to life and the living, color, and the chaotic power of prayers on the wind. The paintings consists of both open ended images focused on the serpentine forms of the flags in motion, as well as restrained Mondrian-like geometries, interpretable as portals of prayer built of billowing, silken fabric.
Jon Carver
Ricardo Mazal, Bhutanese Prayer Flag, Bhutan, 2014. Digital photograph.
Video
BHUTAN ABSTRACTO Multimedia Installation, Museo Centro Cultural Indianilla, Mexico City 2015.
BHUTAN ABSTRACTO Multimedia Installation, Museo Centro Cultural Indianilla, Mexico City 2015.
BHUTAN ABSTRACTO Multimedia Installation, Museo Centro Cultural Indianilla, Mexico City 2015.
BHUTAN ABSTRACTO Multimedia Installation, Museo Centro Cultural Indianilla, Mexico City 2015.
Video Stills
PRAYER FLAG STILL #1, 2015. Pigment Ink Print, 65 x 43 inches (165 × 109 cm) Full Bleed.
PRAYER FLAG STILL #3, 2015. Pigment Ink Print, 65 x 43 inches (165 × 109 cm) Full Bleed.
PRAYER FLAG STILL #5, 2015. Pigment Ink Print, 65 x 43 inches (165 × 109 cm) Full Bleed.
PRAYER FLAG STILL #4, 2015. Pigment Ink Print, 65 x 43 inches (165 × 109 cm) Full Bleed.
Ricardo Mazal in his studio, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
INSTALLATION VIEWS
Installation view of BHUTAN ABSTRACTO, Museo Estación Indianilla, Mexico City, 2015.
Installation view of BHUTAN ABSTRACTO, Museo Estación Indianilla, Mexico City, 2015.
Installation view of BHUTAN ABSTRACTO, Museo Estación Indianilla, Mexico City, 2015.
Installation view of BHUTAN ABSTRACTO, Museo Estación Indianilla, Mexico City, 2015.
Installation view of BHUTAN ABSTRACTO, Museo Estación Indianilla, Mexico City, 2015.
Installation view of the BHUTAN series, artist’s studio, Santa Fe, NM, 2014.
Installation view of the BHUTAN series, artist’s studio, Santa Fe, NM, 2014.
Installation view of the BHUTAN series, artist’s studio, Santa Fe, NM, 2014.
Bhutan PF3, 2014. Oil on Linen 78 x 120 inches (198 x 305 CM).
Selected works
BHUTAN PF NO. 7 and NO. 8, 2015. Oil on Linen 98.5 x 110 inches (250 x 279.5 cm).
SEPTIEMBRE 25.14, 2014. Oil on Linen 78 x 81 inches (198 x 206 cm).
BLACK MOUNTAIN PF3, 2014. Oil on Linen 71 x 71 inches (180.3 x 180.3 cm).
BHUTAN PF5, 4, 2014. Oil on Linen 40 x 42 inches (101.6 x 106.6 cm).
BHUTAN G 9, 2015. Oil on Linen 66 x 100 inches (167.5 x 254 cm).
BHUTAN G NO. 6,8,7, 2015. Oil on Linen 40 x 42 inches (101.5 x 106.5 cm).
COMPOSITION IN GREEN NO. 10 and NO. 11, 2014. Oil on Linen 71 x 73 inches (180 x 185.5 cm).
COMPOSITION IN GREENS 19, 2015. Oil on Linen 90 x 140 inches (228.5 x 355.5 cm).
BHUTAN ABSTRACTION WITH BLACK 1, BHUTAN ABSTRACTION WITH GREEN, 2015. Oil on Linen 90 x 98.5 Inches (229 x 250 cm).
STUDY WITH GREY GREEN, STUDY WITH YELLOW, STUDY WITH GREEN, STUDY WITH RED, 2014. Oil on Linen 24 x 20 inches (61 x 50.8 cm).
BHUTAN ABSTRACTION WITH RED 1, 2014. Oil on Linen 71 x 73 inches (180 x 185.5 cm).
BHUTAN ABSTRACTION WITH GREEN 1, 2014. Oil on Linen 71 x 73 inches (180 x 185 cm).