The infinite variations of the human face have been the basis of mask-making for millennia. Often made by anonymous artists, masks often have the added dimension of magic, fetish, and other ritualistic meanings. For me, all faces are masks. I am constantly entertained by observing people's faces and finding nature's roots for the grotesque, or the breathtaking beauty of classical proportions. I am entranced by the baroque, the obfuscated, and the hermetic.

I am like an actor, who can play many roles through my masks. In some, I explore the dark world of the unspoken words that are the result of choice, force or abuse. Shame and suffering can be expressed by the silence of a mask. Other masks explore the world of theater and illusion. In a light-hearted way, they can represent the fantasy of the mind, where conventional rules are broken. The banal can become charming when set in a mask.

Masks explore art history in style and subject. The proportions of classical and antique sculpture have long been a well of inspiration for many artists. The first masks that I can recall were when I was about eight. In Venezuela, my family went to a ceremonial dance of the Diablos (devils) of Yare. The dancers, wearing frightening masks that they made themselves, danced in front of the church on Good Friday, as if trying to enter and repulsed, and at the moment of the Elevation, the devils fell dead. These gaudy, horned masks were then sold to the onlookers.

I have made masks ever since I was a teenager, and have made them throughout my life. This exhibition represents two years of exploration. They include found objects, observations on holy works and beauty in general.

Richard Soler received his B. A. at Princeton University Cum Laude in art and archaeology, his M.A. at Rice University studying art and art history and was the former curator of prints and drawings at Museo de Bella Artes, Caracas Venezuela

.

.