Exhibited:
Jonathan LeVine Projects, Under Heavy Manners,
Jersey City, New Jersey, May 13 - June 10, 2017

ABOUT THE WORK

A sense of oddity and wonder permeates through Louie Cordero’s whimsical works. In his oeuvre, Cordero displays his mastery of contemporary art expression – from street art to pop surrealism and graphic design. In recent years, Cordero’s works have slowly veered away from figurative and allegorical representation to a constructivist abstraction. The outcome is a distinct composition forming an amalgamation of distorted figures with cubist influences and a patchwork of peculiar elements and tropical landscapes. In this piece, Cordero’s interpretation of environmental deterioration, as represented by the piles of material wastes dumped into a body of water and the ravaged surroundings, is rendered in a style that converges pop surrealism and psychedelic art. Cordero evokes a timely message: abuse of the living world comes at the expense of the degradation of our own humanity. Through his art, Cordero persuades us to awaken our empathy and sow the seeds of collective action against the real culprits behind contemporary problems, which the artist has constantly insinuated in his art. In Wasak: Filipino Art Today, Cordero’s art was described as having “an air of ambiguity” where “a world that is often described as bizarre or riotous, and sometimes even grotesque or abject” is the commanding element of the entirety of the canvas. In addition, Alice Guillermo describes Cordero’s art as “corrosive candy pop.” Guillermo expounds: “Louie Cordero follows in the wake of Ocampo, although he has worked before on his own. More importantly, he has devised his own style out of the possibilities that have been opened. His art springs from an explosive mélange of dada, surrealism, pop, comics and Japanese manga; familiar idioms, yes, but in his hands taking an astonishing turn.”