OUTLANDISH

AN aDAM bUSTAMANTE ART EXHIBIT

FEB THRU MAR 2024

Outlandish: A solo art exhibit featuring the oil paintings of Adam Bustamante at Secret Gallery. From Roswell New Mexico, Bustamante is an oil painter and art instructor specializing in portraits and figurative works. Bustamante paintings are recognized to be a perfectly tuned balance of realism and imaginative imagery.

Outlandish artist statement

The Outlandish series is an attempt to show that paintings can be fun, expressive, and interesting without sacrificing technique or craftsmanship. For centuries, the value of art was primarily based on skill. Eventually people began to realize that wasn’t taking full advantage of its faculties, prompting many artists to go the complete opposite direction and solely emphasize expression. To me, that’s just as flawed. It’s like walking around for years covering your left eye. Then when you finally realize you’ve been missing out on stuff as a result, you decide to cover your right eye instead.

This series is my endeavor to use both eyes at the same time. I tried to make paintings that balance the scales rather than just tilting them in a different direction. The goal was to adhere to traditional standards of portraiture while also using a variety of techniques to obscure, alter, and (ideally) enhance the subjects in a more expressive way.

In my experience, everybody appreciates balance. That’s why third-party candidates always beat the democrats and republicans every election. Actually, wait… shit.

-Adam Bustamante