McMurtrey Gallery is pleased to present the work of Houston
artist Michael de La Cerda.
 

This past year Michael became a first-time father. The work in Three Hundred Sixty-Five expresses the range of emotions he's felt in the first 365 days of his son's life, extending from blissfulness to complete exhaustion.

His work primarily takes the form of a multitude of circles. With no beginning and no end, the circles refer to the idea of memories and reflecting on the day-to-day, as well as moving forward and the continuous nature of things. In essence, the work reflects how everything in life comes full circle. The individual circles are painstakingly created using multiple layers of thin, colored resin, some with molded resin shapes suspended in the middle. Despite all his planning, the nature of resin and the pouring process still allows for the element of chance. It is this aspect of the resin that Mr. de La Cerda has had to learn to work both with and against. Resin is not a forgiving medium, and as many of his molded pieces make it into the trash heap as into finished pieces.

Then, of course, there is the task of making the individual circles function as a whole. Since each piece is created with a certain mood or memory in mind, there isn't one simple answer as to how they should be arranged. It is only with patience and a lifetime of experimentation that he has been able to find that balance.

New to this body of work are several freestanding sculptures. Carrying forward the ideas represented in the other work, these pieces, with their rectangular forms, function as experimental maquettes for larger projects that Mr. de La Cerda is working towards.

Michael de La Cerda was a 2007 Hunting Art Prize finalist. His work has been exhibited at Chinati in 2004 and 2005, and he is represented by 2d Gallery in Marfa, Texas. This is Mr. de La Cerda's second solo exhibition in Houston.

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