Luis Garcia Nerey is an American contemporary artist whose oeuvre shifts between abstract and representational art. His work investigates themes of identity, migration, passage of time, and both individual and collective memory.
Garcia Nerey’s paintings always begin as abstractions and, more often than not, remain purely abstract. But sometimes, as the process unfolds, figuration emerges—delicate, gradual, insistent. The artist builds on it layer by layer: acrylic, oil, tar. He may also introduce figurative elements by painting or drawing directly over the abstract composition, or by integrating collage into the surface. The emergence of figuration disrupts the purely abstract field, creating a tension between symbolic and material forms. The resulting works vary in their degree of representation and finish, ranging from exposed mixed media on canvas, to mixed media on panel sealed under resin, to matte surfaces achieved either by painting over resin or through meticulous polishing and mattifying of the epoxy to achieve a refined effect.
In his recent series, Landscapes, the artist explores the theme of landscape within abstract pictorial space, expanding the visual language of his practice. These compositions, rendered in soft pastel and earthy tones, are executed in oil, acrylic, graphite, and photographic prints on paper organically embedded into the surface.
While primarily known as an abstract artist, Garcia Nerey occasionally ventures into representational territory by integrating photographic elements into his compositions—in this case, images of bodies of water, terrain, and sky. Treated with various media, the paper takes on the texture of canvas, morphing into the surface. These collages are seamlessly embedded within the pictorial field, creating a dynamic juxtaposition of figuration and abstraction. The work invites multiple layers of interpretation, reflecting the open-ended nature of abstract art while grounding it in tangible references to the natural world.
In Landscape I, abstraction takes form as an alpine view: a sunset-lit mountain saddle cascading into a rushing mountain stream.
In Landscape II, what begins as a lake shoreline dissolves into abstraction, launching the viewer’s eye on a journey through Garcia Nerey’s overlapping drips, markings, brushstrokes, and textures.
In Starry Way, Garcia Nerey explores landscape through a highly tactile mixed-media approach, combining oil, tar, charcoal, collage, and resin on wood panel. The surface is visually engaging, featuring a contrasting combination of glossy and matte finishes that create a sense of depth and interact beautifully with the surrounding environment. Here, the artist embeds an image of a riverbank with a large rock resting on its edge—inviting us to pause and look upward into a starry night sky.
Garcia Nerey’s Landscapes series invites viewers into a contemplative space where abstraction and figuration quietly converse. These works are poetic and grounded at the same time. Their layered surfaces offer both visual complexity and emotional depth. The subtle interplay of materials, textures, and imagery evokes a sense of memory, place, and passage of time—suggesting landscapes not only of the external world, but of the inner one as well. Compelling in their tranquility, these compositions draw the viewer in slowly, encouraging reflection. The result is a body of work that resonates long after viewing: meditative, immersive, and profoundly human.
Luis Garcia Nerey was born in 1973 in Puerto Rico into a family of Cuban refugees. He moved to Miami, Florida, as a child. His academic background includes Long Island University (CW Post campus) in Long Island, New York, and the New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida. His work has been included in many private collections and exhibited in numerous museum exhibitions.
Aliona Ortega, Miami, FL
Aliona Ortega Fine Art is pleased to present “Somewhere over Water”, a solo exhibition of recent works by Luis Garcia Nerey. Garcia Nerey is a conceptual multimedia artist whose oeuvre shifts between abstract and representational art. His work investigates the subjects of identity, migration, exile, as well as individual and collective memory.
Garcia Nerey’s paintings always start as abstractions, and often times stay that way – purely abstract. Yet, sometimes, as the work progresses, figurative forms emerge on which the artist builds by applying layers of acrylic, oil, or tar. Sometimes the artist uses elements of collage that he works into his paintings. Resulting works vary in their representational or non-representational qualities and finishes: from exposed mixed media on canvas, to mixed media on panel under a layer of resin, to matte surfaces achieved through multiple steps of polishing and mattifying the epoxy resin to perfection. It is that variety that constitutes the selection of works in “Somewhere over Water”.
“The premise of my work addresses how existence is questionable without participation. I’ve chosen the “Constructionism Philosophy” as the conceptual base in order to bring a theoretical approach to my work of the Self. The philosophy of the Self and the Other stems from the thought that all things need a counter or an Other to define them. In other words, concepts and things in general (i.e. material things, cultures to name a few) have an objective existence not precisely because they possess a natural essence, but because we as humans constructed them through our ingenuity and our creativity that emerges from our interaction through language.
However, I believe this interaction does not solely come from human to human interaction but also can be achieved through different sources. For instance, in my work, the interaction between a painting and a person may be equally important in creating that sense of Self. Even though, I create the work, a conversation is taking place between the paintings and the viewer. In this dynamic, the viewer not only constructs the “essence” of the piece, but also observes him or herself constructing it. It is there, within this symbolic interaction, that the viewer is also being constructed by the work.”.
Luis Garcia Nerey
Miami, Florida, September 2023
