On late Saturday afternoon, I snuck into English Kills gallery before the official opening of Puss, a solo show of new works by Don Pablo Pedro. Entering the vast space on 114 Forrest Street, I enjoyed the emptiness of what was to later become a happening, over-crowded gallery.
The pink painted walls gave the sensation of entering a womb, or someone’s very private, sacred space. Don Pablo Pedro, an eccentric figure of the Bushwick art scene- and Chris Harding’s protégé- was visibly excited, maybe a little nervous before his big solo show was ready to be unveiled to the public. It was his first solo show in this space since 2009.
Two spacious rooms were covered with almost 30 paintings Don Pablo Pedro created over the past year. The big portraits of male figures were hanging amongst a number of smaller portraits of females. In typical Don Pablo Pedro fashion, sexual organs were accentuated on each of the portraits. Some of the figures were even hermaphroditic. Don Pablo likes to walk that line between beautiful and ugly; iconic and kitschy; celebratory and self-accusatory; kind and offensive; and he walked it successfully once again in Puss.
