Press Release - "Scenes Behind the Scenes" by Esteban Samayoa and Lenworth McIntosh
Esteban Samayoa
”We all graduate from something”
Vinyl emulsion on paper
36 x 38 inches
Framed in museum glass
Black Frame
2022
pt.2 Gallery
“Scenes Behind the Scenes”
A exhibition by
Esteban Samayoa
Lenworth McIntosh
Opening Reception
Saturday, March 12th, 6-9 pm
Showing Through April 1st, 2022
pt.2 Gallery is pleased to present Scenes Behind the Scenes an exhibition of new works by Lenworth McIntosh and Esteban Samayoa. In new works on paper, McIntosh and Samayoa redefine Walter Benjamin’s seminal idea of the flâneur - each an acute observer of contemporary life, yet connected to their community that makes up their subject in a manner drastically different than Benjamin’s detached observer.
Much has been written of the flâneur, often the subject of late 1800s French paintings. The detached wanderer represented a focal point through which to view a rapidly changing society - one of public life, relaxed social norms, and a importance of seeing and being seen. The works in Scenes Behind the Scenes have photographic qualities - snapshots deemed pertinent to remember and retell in painting. Like Benjamin’s flâneur, McIntosh and Samayoa observe the world around them - yet unlike the 150 year old archetype, they engage in the communities of their observation.
Samayoa brings memories to life with a rich usage of charcoal pastels, rendering family moments and intimate details in deeply contrasted black and white. The new works range from close-ups of EBT cards, lottery scratchers and piggy banks to family portraits. Samayoa seeks to create work that is familiar for people, identifying both the ways in which communities support each other and recognize collective hardships. Recurring imagery related to money indicates not only a source of hope for a financial breakthrough, but that having money can be a way to help out someone close. With an EBT card, you can feed your community. In Shorties, four pairs of legs and shoes huddle close to one another, cropped below the hip. By ambiguously framing the painting in this way, Samayoa welcomes a sense of inclusive and nostalgia for the viewer. Without context, the scene could take place anywhere and the subjects could be anyone, thus it is easy for the viewer to fill those shoes.
Lenworth McIntosh
”Sleeping dog”
Oil pastel, oil, acrylic, charcoal, and graphite on paper
Framed in museum glass
Walnut Frame
2022
An avid photographer, Lenworth McIntosh’s newest paintings draw a link between his photographic eye and painting practice. Recapturing scenes from photo walks, these paintings focus on the secondary event, and the moments when the subject’s gaze meets the artist. By shifting the focus to the individual interactions, McIntosh traces the designs of who makes up the communities he takes part in. In the painting Sleeping Dog, three men stare past the viewer, captivated by an unseen occurrence. A pensive look across their faces, they appear fixated on the scene. Yet McIntosh’s sights are set not just on these onlookers, but the dog curled up beneath on of the subject’s bicycles, blissfully unaware of both the scene and the artist’s voyeurism. McIntosh’s sights capture the kinship of the subjects, brought together unknowingly.
The works of Samayoa and McIntosh have similar voyeuristic qualities. The two artists carry an investigative way of seeing the world, through which they share the details of cultures they are from. To both of them there is a level of connection and intimacy from behind part of the community. Unlike Walter Benjamin’s flâneur, Samayoa and McIntosh observe with integrity and compassion. A testament to the bonds of kinship and assistance, their practices modernize the outdated archetype, replacing the disengaged observer of affluence with empathetic understanding .
Joonbug works full-time as a multidisciplinary artist in Los Angeles, California. His Jamaican roots largely influence the voice in his style, a mix of rhythm, soul and character. Esteban Samayoa. Artist in Oakland, California. His art is inspired by his life and community that surrounds him. Through the stories in his art he has high hopes of bringing people from different walks of life together.