Less is More

In making art, there is no more challenging nor terrifying process than the reductive -- the resolute substraction of material or pigment from a work in progress. The artist cuts or swipes or scrapes, tears or disolves, and what is done... is done. It is the gesture of no return, the artist's equivalent of the high-wire act performed without a net.

Such an aesthetic process is not for the faint of heart. It is a procedure only for the bold and the brave.

The work of Eugenia Perez Del Toro communicates the confidence and self-assuredness that demonstrates such mature authority. Her imagery, contained in atmospheric groundscapes, manifests a textural strength and organic complexity that reflects her tenacity and assertive bravado. With seemingly fearless thrusts of the knife or trowel, she extracts a rich trove of nuance and articulation -- like an archeologist uncovering a hidden artifact that reveals a buried truth.

Eugenia Perez Del Toro's sculptures -- compact nd cohesive forms which are cast, cut and shaved with a boldness that exhibits a comprehension of the material and exudes the cool grit of the incisive -- are adroit and deft creations that resonate from any angle. The eye of the viewer explores the craggy surfaces, discovering masses violated by fissures and crevices that testify to the inherent of her technique.

Formal, confident and eloquent, her three dimentional work stands as testimony to a keen eye and bold hand -- rich with contrasts and crackling with energy that flows from an assertive aestethic sense.

On a more diminutive scale, Eugenia retains tha painterly and sculptural essence of her larger works. In richly textured, luxurious brooches and rings, the artist graces the wearer with altogether original and provocative presences. Ever mindful of her elegant insight and a brilliantly nuanced touch. The pieces exude an assurance and power that belie their intimate size.

Eugenia Perez Del Toro is an artist steeped in the passion of exploration; her works are deeply personal investigations into what lies beyond the surface -- exhumations of form and light and texture that might lie buried or repressed in lesser artistic hands.

Like the fearless performer who challenges the fates and leaves the audience gasping, she ventures forth and assumes countless risks without a backward glance. It is the stuff of heroics and those of us in the balcony can only watch in awe.

Steve Brezzo
Ex-Director of the San Diego Museum of Art