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Ex Convento opens its arms to Davis Birks – again

Ex Convento opens its arms to Davis Birks – again

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Written by Elaine Halleck
Saturday, 19 April 2008
U.S. artist Davis Birks shows abstract work that suggests the biological. U.S. artist Davis Birks adds another to his long list of Mexican and international exhibitions with the show “Trabajos” at the Ex Convento del Carmen until May 7. The 51-year-old, Seattle-born Birks was about 30 when he received a B.F.A. from Arizona State University. He then began exhibiting prolifically in Guadalajara, Mexico City and Southern California, soon branching out to Switzerland, Miami, the Czech Republic and Puerto Vallarta where he now lives. His current Guadalajara show consists of 19 medium and large framed pieces. Perhaps the most technically intriguing in the group are his “Serie de los Exposures,” done with acrylic paint on acrylic sheets. These subtle tonal gradations and textures leave viewers scratching their heads as to whether the process was really painting and not photography – exactly the illusion the artist wanted to achieve, according to his statements. This collection of Birks’ work is all abstract but with strong biological suggestions. Sometimes we wonder if we are looking at enlarged photos of tissue as seen through a microscope; at other times, at a cross section of a tree trunk. All the work in this show is in black, white and beige. Accompanying Davis Birks’ show are two other enjoyable exhibitions, a large collection of paintings, drawings and sculpture by Antonio Ramirez that fills the first floor of the lovely Ex Convento and part of the second. Ramirez’s style may bring to mind Picasso. A group of large, pleasing oil landscapes by young painter Enrique Hernandez is especially notable. His scenes of Guadalajara are often bucolic but with an undertone of gritty, city life – railway tracks passing through almost rural snatches of the city; the underside of a bridge; the facade of a brewery. Ex Convento del Carmen, Av. Juarez 638, two blocks east of Federalismo. Tel. (33) 3030-1385. No fee to enter. Closed Mondays.

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