Ruben Nieto: 2010

I grew up in Veracruz, Mexico reading American Comic books, and today those memories play an important role as part of my creative process. I admire the Formal elements of Comic books and approach them from this perspective, analyzing the page layout, color combination, and the narrative structure. I remove them from their original source using computer software to transform and alter the structure of the imagery; morphing, simplifying and reducing them.

I then appropriate what interests me visually, transforming and morphing the imagery and creating my own stories. I decompose the narrative structure and recontextualize the imagery as a conglomeration of seemingly unrelated graphic images. The combination of the strong influence of Abstract Expressionism, and my admiration for Pop Art creates the environment in which those stories emerge and become alive.

After the digital process is finished, and I am satisfied with the composition, I proceed to make an oil painting. Forms and shapes coincide and drift on planes of varying depth, resulting in Comic abstractions with a Contemporary “pop” look.