The Future is Tandem

Dixon

Dec. 12 - Jan. 31 2009

A confluence of cultures and contradictions, Juan Carlos Noria is a
 painter for our times. Born in Caracas, Venezuela he carries his Latin
 American sensibility on his sleeve. As a teen growing up in Ottawa,
 Canada, he became an accomplished figure skater. Grace and lines were
 an obsession. So, too were his ideas of subversion. He fell out of
 skating after hitting the rigid class structure of the sport, finding
 comfort (and discomfort) in visual art, on the streets with a paint
 can, postering, skateboarding, fleeing police. A strange opportunity
 then came. A world tour with Disney on Ice. It heightened his sense of
 absurdity, humour and anger, sharpened his visual and social
 awareness. Arriving back in Ottawa, he hung up the skates and his
 career took flight with live painting performances. So proficient from
 his days of graffiti, he quickly earned a reputation for highly
 resolved canvases produced in front of appreciative crowds. Through
 these events in various venues, Juan Carlos also ensured a showcase
 for other young Ottawa artists, raising the bar and pushing them to
 achieve with him. It was 2001-2002.

 Meanwhile, the tide of CNNesque culture rose in North America. Juan,
 always with an eye on pop culture and current events, found himself
 painting with increasing anger. He needed to change the channel. In
 November 2004, he moved to Barcelona, Spain to find tranquilo, a new
 view of the world and new audiences. Since his move, he has evolved,
 focused and become more prolific, with exhibits in Spain, the United
 States and Canada.

 True to subversive nature, he undercuts his own personality allowing
 himself to explore two other personas and visual styles. He sometimes
 works under the pseudonyms of royal or dixon. He has been infuenced by his
 contemporaries Mark Marsters, Pat Thompson and Dave Cooper. Yet, he is
 himself-singular Juan. He is without pretense, full of concern for
 others, quick to laugh and quicker to paint something ripe.