The Tells: Jaime Molina + Wes Sam-Bruce

Written by Kristopher Wright | info@odessadenver.com  

11.17.2016

(Denver CO)

Jaime Molina + Wes Sam-Bruce’s “The Tells” is a quiet, yet ambitious investigation into the sometimes solitary and more contemplative moments in life. Featuring multi-dimensional works made from wood, paint, feathers, nails, and bone, this exhibition is a must see.

Often, collaborative exhibitions reveal themselves to be an artistic gamble; exemplifying the differences in style, language, and opinion, instead of achieving something greater than the sum of its parts. The Tells is a wonderful exception to this rule. 

Upon entering the Svper Ordinary Gallery space, it becomes nearly impossible for the untrained eye to identify where Molina’s hand ends and Sam-Bruce’s begins. The work is full of gravitas, drawing from folk, street art, and even spiritualism. Death, home, personal geography, ancient and new technologies all combine to remind the viewer of the dense whimsicality of our human experience.

 About the Artists:

Jaime Molina began working initially with printmaking then moving into painting and, in recent years, sculpture, Jaime Molina tells tales of characters that, to varying degrees, represent his family and friends. They also portray people and their habits in general – a loose play on our own existence. His work has a fascinating narrative to it. This world he has created continues to become larger, and with his more recent sculptural works, the characters he’s created are moving into the dimensional realm. Built out of anything and everything at hand, they echo traditional folk techniques and ideas, with a modern twist.

Wes Sam-Bruce is best known for his audacious, exploratory, and story-soaked sculptural installations. Like entering an undiscovered world or abandoned home, these installations act as living metaphors to prompt physical engagement and conjure emotional connections with the viewer. Ranging from vast, village-like installations in museums and poetically charged 2D work in galleries, to the small act of making a poem or photo alone at the river, his work investigates the human experience.

Learn more about The Tells

Learn more about SvperOrdinary