"Diverse View of Spanic Ethnicity"

By HELEN A. HARRISON
Published: December 21, 1997

Felix Berroa
Brentwood Public Library, Second Avenue at Fourth Street, Brentwood. Through Dec. 31. 273-7883.
Drawing heavily on his Hispanic heritage, Mr. Berroa pictures a fantastic realm peopled largely by imaginary characters. The artist sometimes enters this surreal world, as in a recent self-portrait that shows him sharing his creative vision with a ''dream girl'' who represents his daughter. Interestingly, Mr. Berroa depicts himself almost naturalistically, while the girl assumes the guise of his stock figures.

Those figures share several recurring attributes, especially skewed heads with flattened, staring faces that give them a doll-like quality. The mannequin effect is enhanced by bodies that seem to have been carved, as they are covered with networks of what look like chisel marks. Even the self-portrait features the stylizing texture, allying the flesh-and-blood artist to his symbolic creations.
That Mr. Berroa identifies with his characters, whether male or female, is plain enough. His themes are the big ones that concern all humankind: the journey through life, its impact on the individual and its ultimate destination. The challenges we face, the guises we assume, our hopes and disappointments are imagined through the inner eye of a dreamer who incorporates folk tales, myths and religion in his reveries.
Mr. Berroa's most effective works are those in which a jarring element intrudes, disturbing the equilibrium of his sculptural figures. In his two-part painting of a park scene, for example, a child is the anchor for a swirling melange of bodies floating in a chaotic universe of abstract color and line. The child seems to recognize life's disorder and counters it with her stabilizing presence.

Photo Estudio 1

Photo Estudio 2

Photo Estudio 3

Photo Estudio 4

Photo Estudio 5

Photo Estudio 6

Photo Estudio 7

Photo Estudio 8

Photo Estudio 9