A mixture of Cosemtics and Cosmos in a wooden sculpture by Circe Irasema – Huge
“For me, painting is a matter of time,” Circe Irasema said. The artist, who lives and works in Mexico City, ponders deeply the dominance of the male gaze in Western art history and how that authority affects the technical and material qualities of the work itself. Her work retains this tradition, which must mean retaining everything it represents.
Instead, the artist turned to an unconventional feminine medium. Using colorful eyeshadow cakes, pink and long acrylic nails, Irasema created “an alternative version of the history of painting. History tells the story of the history of body, women, performance, spoilage, spoilage, life’s vulnerability and life’s vulnerability and life, family, gaze and beauty’s vulnerability and transsexuality.”
Irasema combines comics and decor with more common materials such as gouache and acrylic paints, creating vibrant anatomical models and more abstract wooden pieces embedded in eye shadows. These mixed media works appear in distant forms, blending a traditional art form with long-term self-expression and beautification.
Given the delicate nature of the powder’s compactness – a reality for those who put down their eye shadow palette and watch it crush – fragile materials require a level of care, which is symbolic for the artist. “This stems from a general understanding related to everyday life, distances from academia and connects with emotional education,” she added. “For a long time, expression through advanced artistic expression has been privileged, and makeup and fashion history has been understood as shallow or even rash, a concept that irasema conveniently rejected.
Many of the works shown here are titled ” Cosmic Paintingpay tribute to the common etymology roots of the term cosmetics and the universe. Translated as “order,” the artist added, “the word is understood as something harmonious and beautiful.” “This Greek meaning represents the basis for this beautiful beauty that emerges from geometric shapes, the cornerstone of painting since the revival. This work attempts to use these same premises to reconfigure this concept of painting with compact cosmetics.”
Irasema is currently in a solo exhibition for Carrillo Gil Art Museum and is creating works for Basel Miami. Follow her practice on Instagram.
