FIXATE

By Stephanie Guillen

RAW Brooklyn presented “FIXATE” at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar on September 13th. The event featured fashion shows, a film, art exhibits, live music and performances.

RAW is an independent platform for new, underrated, upcoming artists to showcase their work. Focusing on indie talent, RAW is a platform for all artistic mediums.

“I guess all art is ‘raw’ in a sense,” said Raul Arjona, an artist showcasing his work. “I know my art is since it’s driven by raw emotion.”

Arjona said that he started feeling comfortable with describing himself as an artist about five years ago. “From a very young age, I knew I wanted to be an artist,” he said. “I was drawn to all forms of art, including theater and music, but drawing, writing and painting came the most natural to me. When I was younger, I thought it was pretentious to call myself an artist aloud, but as I grew older I became more confident and comfortable with who I am.”

Arjona sold five of his paintings. His art is inspired from neo-expressionist works and from his own writing. Arjona’s paintings are very child-like, yet carry a complex, dark meaning.

Topaz (1984), one of the pieces Arjona sold, is his brightest. It features an abstract face with brown complexion on one half of the canvas, giving the other half of the canvas a side eye. The other half appears to be an opening, as if it represented a void. The background tone is turquoise. The painting also has an “x”, the word “heart” crossed out, and the word “deep”, all randomly placed on the canvas. This painting gives a taste of how complex Arjona’s artwork is. In all of his work he conveys strong messages that translate into aesthetic pieces.

RAW Brooklyn will be back at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar on December 6th.