My current body of work consists of the painted image installed in construction type frame works such as beds of dirt, objects suggesting basic shelter, and towers created out of dry wall and found driftwood, cement, and insulation. The intention is to create objects that explore the ideas of shelter within the “first” and “third” worlds and the basic necessities needed to keep the body functional.

There is an interesting thing happening: The material has dictated the aesthetic and conceptual direction of my work while the multilayered emotional tone has come from this constant disillusion with existence. Do to the realities of globalization, militarization, materialism, fear, emptiness, and the constant expanding space between those who have and those who have not, a profound and sweet sadness navigates my work, as if it was invited, welcomed, and soaked in romance. I am both horrified and utterly amused by existence and can do nothing else but to observe and build upon the universal celebration and contemplation of life.

Bio
Caleb Duarte, born 1977, migrated from Northern Mexico to the farm working communities of the Central Valley in California. He began to paint at an early age and continued his studies at the San Francisco Art Institute and has exhibited his work in Pienza Italy, Mumbai India, Los Angeles CA., Fresno, Sacramento, santiago de cuba, Mexico, White Box gallery in New York, NY, and through out the Bay Area. Caleb teaches creative thinking through the visual form in and around the oakland school district and with other orgnizations. He currently lives and works in the bay area.