IIluminando Caminos (Lighting the Way)

ArtX Contemporary • Seattle, WA

“I want my work to stand in contrast to these dark forces. I want to visually light the way.”— Fulgencio Lazo

Fulgencio Lazo fills the gallery of ArtX Contemporary with paintings that lift our spirits. They are constructed with intricate patterns that convey various moods through shifts in color and line. But the dominant mood is a celebration of life.

Fulgencio Lazo lives in the Central District of Seattle and Oaxaca, Mexico, two very different places in terms of mood and color. Oaxaca is known for its joyful festivals and imaginary animals carved in wood and decorated with bright colors. Seattle is dominated by blue and green of the sea and the mountains, while the mood here is understated.

Lazo’s art brings together abstraction with traditions based in his native Oaxaca, his Zapotec heritage, and his own personal journey between the U.S. and Mexico. He was trained in both countries, so we see in his work an unusual synthesis of Mexican and Modernist characteristics. The colors light up the room, as we walk among these works. 

But Lazo considers the challenges that immigrants face. While responding to the political and social tensions of our time, he gives us a way forward through his art that suggests the intersections of people in community.

“River of Whistles” suggests figures moving through a blue river with a bridge in the background. The repeated rhythm of the central figures rolling inside a circular whistle, suggests unstoppable but gentle movement.

In contrast, “Lighting up Rivers of Joy” is filled with blues and yellows, oranges and reds, as figures dance and collaborate on weaving a central motif. 

If we look closely at “Embracing Threads,” we see a woven line of blue that surrounds and unifies different parts of the painting. Within this line are other images in different shades of blue with many different patterns. Interspersed in the patterns are balls and heads. There is a sad quality—are the heads entrapped, are they stuck?

“Blue Water” is more upbeat—bright yellow and red intersperse with the blue. There is a sense of movement in the swirling form. The small figures seem to spin around with the flow of the painting, which also seems to remind us of a weaving.

A sense of escape is even more emphasized in “Lighting Up Rivers of Joy.” Bright yellow, red, and orange, the colors of Oaxaca are taking over and everything is moving. “I Sing” is even more joyful. A stand-up figure seems to hold two heads at her center. She is surrounded by bright yellow and wears red. Spools of thread come from the top of the painting and unwind, creating a weaving pattern.

Finally in “Lighting the Way,” the painting that gives the theme to the exhibition, the heads are aligned at the center in a pale blue ground with a woven black pattern. On each side are candles lighting the work. The hands reach out to make skeins of wool and spools of thread. 

Other paintings refer to weaving and music, two creative forms that create community. Creating joy with painting is Lazo’s declaration that we can continue, even in the face of so many difficulties.

Fulgencio Lazo has had over 40 solo shows throughout the U.S., Mexico, Japan, and France, and has numerous pieces in public collections. This fall he is an artist-in-residence for a month at the Seattle Art Museum Studio project, where he offers printmaking workshops two days a week and creating the tapete (floor covering) for his magnificent Day of the Dead installation at the Seattle Art Museum. He helped establish Day of the Dead celebrations at the Museum over 30 years ago.

Fulgencio Lazo’s work indeed does light the way for us, not only with his art, but also his commitment to our community!

Susan Noyes Platt

Susan Noyes Platt writes for local, national, and international publications and her website www.artandpoliticsnow.com.

This solo exhibition by Fulgencio Lazo is on view through November 14 at ArtX Contemporary, located at 512 - 1st Avenue South in Seattle, Washington. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For information, visit https://artxcontemporary.com.