Venezuelan artist, Jaime Gili, delivered a guest lecture at Bakersfield College on September 7, 2023. Gili spoke passionately about Venezuelan art and his art opinions, concluding his visit by showcasing his art, “MONTE.”
In his lecture, Gili covered Venezuela’s artistic roots while showcasing works of some of its most revered artists including Carlos Raúl Villanueva, Alejandro Otero, Armando Reverón, and Eugenio Espinoza, which were all cited as being key inspirations.
He continued by providing a snapshot of his vast array of work, which featured a huge geometric display spanning over eight floors in a Bloomberg office in London; to re-designing a public baseball park in his birthplace of Caracas, Venezuela; to a smaller scale of designing motorcycle taxi helmets for taxis on the border of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.
“I keep it, or I change it,” Gili said, describing his approach to creating art, which usually involves working on multiple projects at once.
When asked to give advice to students who are aspiring artists, he replied by pointing out the many blank and boring walls that are present within Bakersfield and even on campus. Additionally, he recognized his father’s support as being essential to his path as an artist, stating that “my father backed me,” which allowed him to make the necessary sacrifices to becoming an artist.
The lecture was followed by the unveiling of Gili’s “MONTE,” or a collection of geometrically abstract art that was inspired by the different perspectives that spaces of greenery such as the encircling jungle, the cozy natural English gardens, and grand linear French gardens provide.
The gallery gave attendees the opportunity to speak to Gili, in which his care and enthusiasm showed as he even connected to several Spanish-speaking students in a way that was made special and personal through the familiarity of Spanish.
The art installation is housed in the Wylie and May Louise Jones Art Gallery located in the Grace Van Dyke Library and will remain on display until October 12, 2023.