Jalapa

Comment

Comment by Elizabeth Powers on May 20, 2023 at 10:56pm

In response to the Resident Curator,

The Jalapa I was referencing is a resort city in E central Mexico, Xalapa or Jalapa (officially Xalapa-Enríquez) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Vera Cruz, and the name of the surrounding municipality. The city now has a population of over 800,000.

I was inspired by the canceled postage stamp and the rest flowed from there.

Comment by Elizabeth Powers on May 20, 2023 at 10:48pm

In response to the Resident Curator,

The Jalapa I was referencing is a

Comment by Resident Curator on May 20, 2023 at 4:18pm

Curator’s Comments:

I came across this older piece (posted back in 2009) entitled Jalapa while looking through other encaustic works on the site. While the wax medium does appear to have been used to create a unifying finish, I’m interested in the collaged materials combined into the painting.  The paper inclusions of more recognizable subject matter appears to create compositional anchors within a swirling, abstract composition. The blue and red-orange hues also set up a complemtray color scheme. I enjoy the manner in which the multiple motifs and portrait are connected by gestural brush marks. I assume the title references the Guatemalan city by the same name, but am curious about the notation made when the work was posted that indicates a Mexican theme. I would like to know more about your process and inspirations if you’re still active on the site.