El Espejo del Gorila Print

Knut Pani was born in Mexico City in 1956. In 1983 he received his B.F.A. in painting and illustration from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Ca. From 1983 to 1990 lived in Mexico City, where he worked on his paintings, etchings, sculptures and teaching. Pani's artistic expression, with its characteristic abstraction, became even more synthetic when he moved to the countryside where he designed and built his house and studio. In 1993 he founded "El Pez Soluble" Press in Tequisquiapan, Mexico, which offers residencies for artists from all over the world in the etching and print techniques. Knut Pani has painted five murals in Mexico. His work can be found among more than 200 public and private collections worldwide. "Flamas" text for the exhibition at Itatty Gallery, Mexico city by Gerardo Estrada* Each time I'm confronted by an artist's new production, I become skeptical.The observer who is not familiar with the work of art feels uneasy expressing an opinion, or even his liking of the work. In order to appreciate a work of art you should, at least, have the minimum knowledge about it, although this is not necessarily so. The image is sufficient. But this problem becomes more serious when we are dealing with an abstract painting. Common points of reference are lost even more nowadays and we're invaded by an intellectual and esthetic aloofness. A naive mind will feel uncomfortable or deceived. A more prudent individual or someone experienced with art will be satisfied with a "How interesting". But maybe both would be eluding the real importance in a work of art, the simple and true image. I either like it or not. All explanations can be pointless because, finally, the context can seem as foreign as the work of art itself. Knut Pani's work is full of enigmas that motivate us and it becomes necessary to make an effort if we want to understand it, but if we want to enjoy it we just need to let our senses do the job. Let our imagination fly and take pleasure in what we see, contrary to what it is said. *Gerardo Estrada was Director of the National Institute of Fine Arts.