Lot 263: JAIME PACENA II

JAIME PACENA II B. 1980 BLOWN SIGNED AND DATED 2011 LOWER RIGHT; INSCRIBED IMPLODE MIDDLE CENTER; SIGNED AND DATED 2011 ON THE REVERSE ACRYLIC, ARCHIVAL INK, LEAD, PASTEL, SILVER AND LACQUER ON CANVAS 183 by 152 cm.; 72 by 59 3/4 in.

Blown, by Jaime "Jay" Pacena II, is a multilayered, mixed media work that combines digital manipulation, illustration, and painting. His 21st-century approach to abstraction involves analog equivalents of principles found in contemporary imaging software. Pacena takes an image he digitally composed and then creates its layers, textures, transparencies and opacities by hand with materials such as acrylic, silver leaf, and pastel.

At the very base of Blown is the photograph of a girl—face obscured, hair tossed by the wind— surrounded by a riot of geometric shapes. Pacena deconstructs this layer by dripping paint over it, a gestural process that obscures the image with a haze of white and establishes a tangible relationship between the artist and the artwork.

The girl recedes into the background as other elements are added to the picture: at the very heart of the piece is the single word "Implode" encircled in red; and from this center, subtle green triangles swirl out to the corner of the canvas. The scattershot fragments assembled together like puzzle pieces are symbolic of Blown's message, which is one of catharsis and letting go. The wild freedom and ebullience of Pacena's creative process magnifies his message and stands as proof that traditional and contemporary techniques can be wed on one canvas.