"... In every montage, the artist applied the strategy of superimposing and blending the front and the back of a page taken from an American illustrated magazine of the mid-20th century. The crossed-gazes constructed in the United States on the local culture and the Venezuelan culture —the latter according to the way it was recreated for American consumers— are the core of each representation."

 "...At the time mentioned above, although mostly considered by foreigners a tropical and exotic destination, Venezuela was also a developing country with an expanding petroleum industry, higher growth rates, and modern urban and architecture renewal programs in several cities, mainly Caracas. The United States was its leading provider of technology and capital for investments. Besides, American qualified professionals and tourists traveled to Venezuela more frequently than ever before. Vázquez-Figueroa explores the peculiar tensions of these economic and political relations displaying a handful of artistic resources and critical discourses. 

There is at least a double game of gazes in this exhibition. One, the gaze the attendants direct to works on view. Another, the conflictive ones that, inside these works, occupy the center of the artist’s proposal. In the complex dialogue between the installation and its beholders, the gaze emerges not only as a personal but also as a historical and cultural product"

 

Excerpt taken from text by  J.Antonio Navarrete text for "Within the Gaze" at Artmedia Gallery.