LUIS PINTO - Before the Legends of Man and Beyond
Luis Pinto Miami artist Luis Pinto creates artistic mythologies without limitations to the imagination.
With recent works in the last Primary Project's exhibition “Salon Du Notre Societe”, the show “Before the Legends of Man” at Kidrobot and various other upcoming projects Pinto is keeping himself quite busy, establishing himself as artist, curator and editor with his Strangeways zine.
“Before the Legends of Man” ran from June 7 to August 24, 2012 at Kidrobot in South Beach. The 20 ink and charcoal drawings, created between 2009 and 2011, are detailed, delicate, precise and iconographic examples of Pinto’s work. The geometric shapes, architectural structures and organic forms such as eyes, clouds, hands and faces are all recurring elements in his work. 
Therion Saman
About the exhibition Pinto says “I am very satisfied with how the exhibit turned out. I got the feedback I was looking for, I got a chance to display my old work that leads into my new work, I got some good press, and got to meet a bunch of new really nice people. It was also nice to be able to see the work in a nice space and how the pieces complement each other and how they communicate and work together.”
The series “Book of 50 Gates,” “The Divisions of the World,” and “Gates, Guardians, Vessels” are all part of a mystical and spiritual world as envisioned by the artist. The three series are all interlinked in an interior dialogue and together create one story. The story is set in an alternate universe prior to human existence, prior to any definition by man. It is a world without boundaries and limitations and full of doors and gates into different spaces and realms.
UntitledPinto’s mythologies explore space and boundaries, not just in terms of physicality or geography but also through his manipulation of his audience’s concepts of identity and preconceptions attached to various religious iconography. Pinto’s works do not come across as gratuitous juxtaposition for the sake of shock value, but rather more organic creations that force the viewer to examine his/her own preconceptions.
Pinto explains “my work is the developing of a mythology from scratch, utilizing all the elements from existing mythologies and ideologies. The idea of these images is that they are gates, each one of these is a gate that leads into another reality all existing on the same plain. The gates are not solid, they just appear to be. Theoretically my idea of a spirit is, it exists but is invisible until it is brought into reality by you summoning it, or bringing it into existence. ”
For his new work, following the abstract pieces in “Before the Legends of Man”, Pinto has taken a more figurative approach. He is more focused on creating an individual story for each piece rather than a series with a cross dialogue between the drawings. “This new work still deals more with energies than actual physical beings, although they are represented in a physical form. I have also been thinking about taking my work into conceptual sculpture and I’ve got a nice lot of ideas on how to bridge the gap between the mediums so the work all fits well together,” explains Pinto, who is about to start his MFA in Sculpture following his BFA in Sculpture and Electronic Inter-Media.
artist Luis Pinto at Primary Project 2Luis Pinto is an artist with an infectious imagination and impeccable technical skills. Each of his drawings invites the mind to wander and create never-ending stories while discovering new details, intricacies and metaphors at every glance. He offers a brief glimpse into his forthcoming work by sharing his staring point. “Man was tricked by coyote to go out into the tangible world. After this the works will change visually.”
While we await the next chapter Pinto is inviting us to be creative. He wants to inspire people to create magazines and become part of his movement by welcoming tangible visual or written content for his publication “Strangeways,” which he started in August of 2011 in Miami. The 12th issue will be released with a party and art show/ installation at Kill Your Idol on Thursday, September 6, 2012. The event, curated by Beaux and Strangeways, will feature works by artists such as Jaime Salazar, Emily Bloch, Edau, Steve Saiz and Kubiat to name a few.
All horror movie fans are invited to ‘Slumber Party Cinema,” a collaboration between Pinto’s Strangeways and O Cinema. The monthly double feature horror movie night will kick off on September 26.