Matchup Prize 2007 Winner Announced: Rogelio Manzo
The Matchup Prize fine art competition winner for 2007 was announced today. Rogelio Manzo took the prize for his compelling and sometimes shocking imagery, executed in oil on canvas.
Dallas, TX, February 29, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Misshapen figures or reflections of life? A common comment from the jurists for this years judging was some variation of: “I was prepared to pass this work by, but something compelling about it called me back and impressed me to take a second look; and then a third.” The astonishing paintings by Rogelio Manzo, winner of the 2007 Matchup Prize, are prime examples of brute introspective creativity.
His "forced portraits” strip bare the human figure in searing and anguished images that remind the viewer of the fragility and inevitable mortality of life. The Mexican-born Rogelio Manzo seeks to reveal the character of his subjects as they are “forced” to be themselves. He goes beneath the body’s protective layer of skin, which registers all personal events that scar the human being, to reveal the fragility and inevitable mortality of all mankind. In most works, Manzo places the figures in the foreground with rarely a sense of an environment. Thus, the viewer is forced to focus on the Cubistic fragmented visages and figures that are painted with an expressionistic fervor.
The surfaces of these oil paintings range from thick impasto to thin washes with areas of the canvas left bare. This treatment adds to the sensation of his subjects being flayed to reveal their innermost feelings. Manzo’s preferred format of squares, often as large as 6’ x 6’, also focuses the viewer’s attention on the anguished faces and bodies. His palette of tones of black, brown, gray, and a blood red adds to the feeling of bleak reality. As possible hints of optimism, occasional hits of dandelion yellow, sky blue, or cardinal red brighten this palette.
Manzo has been inspired by the painters Rufino Tamayo and Francisco Toledo as well as by the photographers Graciela Iturbide and her mentor Manuel Alvarez Bravo, whose work was greatly inspired by “the honorable indigenous people of Mexico.” The magic realist painter Paula Rego has also influenced his work. “I try to maintain a balance between my cultural background and the contributions of conceptual art,” he notes.
According to Manzo, “… the skin is not only our protective varnish against harmful exterior forces or the medium with which to be touched and caressed, it is also where we register all of our personal events that somehow had touched us enough to scar us. Through these paintings I am exploring the different stages of our lives as human beings.”
The Matchup Prize for fine art and crafts was established as an annual award to recognize excellence in works by artists without regard to history or reputation of the artist. It is a purely merit-based honor awarded in a juried competition by five independent judges. There is no entry fee required of entrants. For 2007, a cash prize was awarded for best flat work (paintings/drawings/photos). For 2008, the contest is open to work in all categories. All images submitted and approved for display on www.matchup.com are entered in the competition, with no fees and no limits on the number of items submitted. Nominal commissions are charged for works sold from the site. Entries are accepted internationally, with no geographic restriction. Submissions sold (through Matchup or elsewhere) prior to the contest end remain eligible for the Prize. All accepted submissions are automatically entered in the contest, with listing fees waived (free to enter). Current deadline: December 31, 2008. Decision of the judges is final. Employees of Matchup or their family members are not eligible.
Matchup is an online gallery of fine art and craftwork offering artisans a compelling value in exposing their work to aficionados of quality original art work worldwide. Gallery curator Joel Potasznik stated he was “very pleased to announce this year’s Matchup Prize from an extremely qualified bevy of artisans who submitted impressive works from all corners of the globe. Mr. Manzo’s creations are just beginning to receive their appropriate recognition outside his home country. Matchup is proud to recognize his professional advancement.”
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His "forced portraits” strip bare the human figure in searing and anguished images that remind the viewer of the fragility and inevitable mortality of life. The Mexican-born Rogelio Manzo seeks to reveal the character of his subjects as they are “forced” to be themselves. He goes beneath the body’s protective layer of skin, which registers all personal events that scar the human being, to reveal the fragility and inevitable mortality of all mankind. In most works, Manzo places the figures in the foreground with rarely a sense of an environment. Thus, the viewer is forced to focus on the Cubistic fragmented visages and figures that are painted with an expressionistic fervor.
The surfaces of these oil paintings range from thick impasto to thin washes with areas of the canvas left bare. This treatment adds to the sensation of his subjects being flayed to reveal their innermost feelings. Manzo’s preferred format of squares, often as large as 6’ x 6’, also focuses the viewer’s attention on the anguished faces and bodies. His palette of tones of black, brown, gray, and a blood red adds to the feeling of bleak reality. As possible hints of optimism, occasional hits of dandelion yellow, sky blue, or cardinal red brighten this palette.
Manzo has been inspired by the painters Rufino Tamayo and Francisco Toledo as well as by the photographers Graciela Iturbide and her mentor Manuel Alvarez Bravo, whose work was greatly inspired by “the honorable indigenous people of Mexico.” The magic realist painter Paula Rego has also influenced his work. “I try to maintain a balance between my cultural background and the contributions of conceptual art,” he notes.
According to Manzo, “… the skin is not only our protective varnish against harmful exterior forces or the medium with which to be touched and caressed, it is also where we register all of our personal events that somehow had touched us enough to scar us. Through these paintings I am exploring the different stages of our lives as human beings.”
The Matchup Prize for fine art and crafts was established as an annual award to recognize excellence in works by artists without regard to history or reputation of the artist. It is a purely merit-based honor awarded in a juried competition by five independent judges. There is no entry fee required of entrants. For 2007, a cash prize was awarded for best flat work (paintings/drawings/photos). For 2008, the contest is open to work in all categories. All images submitted and approved for display on www.matchup.com are entered in the competition, with no fees and no limits on the number of items submitted. Nominal commissions are charged for works sold from the site. Entries are accepted internationally, with no geographic restriction. Submissions sold (through Matchup or elsewhere) prior to the contest end remain eligible for the Prize. All accepted submissions are automatically entered in the contest, with listing fees waived (free to enter). Current deadline: December 31, 2008. Decision of the judges is final. Employees of Matchup or their family members are not eligible.
Matchup is an online gallery of fine art and craftwork offering artisans a compelling value in exposing their work to aficionados of quality original art work worldwide. Gallery curator Joel Potasznik stated he was “very pleased to announce this year’s Matchup Prize from an extremely qualified bevy of artisans who submitted impressive works from all corners of the globe. Mr. Manzo’s creations are just beginning to receive their appropriate recognition outside his home country. Matchup is proud to recognize his professional advancement.”
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