Artist Daevid Mendivil, holding a beard mask up to his own face, poses with art fan Yaacob Moshe Moses of Kingston during a meet-the-artist reception at Marquis Art & Frame.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Works by Daevid Mendivil at Marquis Art & Frame
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Some of Daevid Mendivil’s work has been inspired by cartoons, like Scrooge McDuck.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Artist Daevid Mendivil’s portrait of ‘Black Beauty’ prompted fan Sharon Rolland of Shavertown to comment,
“He has perfectly captured the energy of a stallion.”
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Artist Daevid Mendivil said he was inspired to paint a star behind this owl.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
‘Cat in Love’ expresses many of the emotions a person in love might experience.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Just how much talent does the person in this painting possess? It could be a lot or a little, depending on the size of the hat he wears.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
This picture started out as simply a vase, with flowers, until the canvas spoke to Daevid Mendivil and suggested he give the flowers faces.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Artist Daevid Mendivil, whose work is on display in the Second Floor Gallery of Marquis Art & Frame in downtown Wilkes-Barre, and Bev Johnston of the Wyoming Valley Art League pose in the gallery with whimsical props.
Artist Daevid Mendivil is fluent in Spanish and English, and understands French, Italian and Portuguese.
But when he says “I let the canvas speak to me,” you might think his canvases speak not only those five languages but many more — languages of creativity and whimsy, humor and passion. Languages perhaps understood by Mendivil’s inspirations, who range from George Condo to Peter Max to Walt Disney’s cartoonists.
And, sometimes, the canvas speaks the language of thought-provoking possibilities.
Consider “As You May See It,” one of several works on display in the Second Floor Gallery of Marquis Art & Frame in downtown Wilkes-Barre, where “Beyond Boundaries: The Infinite Perspectives of Daevid Mendivil” is on exhibit through late August.
At first glance you might think it’s an image of two men, each wearing a top hat, and simply facing each other.
Actually, it’s not two men, Mendivil explained during a recent meet-the-artist reception. It’s one man standing before a mirror. But … which is the real person and which is the reflection?
While the figure on the right has a smallish top hat perched on his head, the figure on the left has a top hat so large it falls down over his eyes.
If the figure on the left is the real person, he might see himself as possessing only a little talent, when in reality he has a lot of talent, represented by that big hat.
If the figure on the right is the true one, the person has only a small amount of talent, but perceives himself to be drowning in talent.
Surely we all know people who fit those categories.
As you walk around the rooms in the gallery, you’ll see Mendivil has painted likenesses of celebrities ranging from Freddie Mercury to Cher to Madonna to Audrey Hepburn to Marlon Brando as “The Godfather.”
“I added flowers to soften him,” Mendivil said, noting that even if the character Brando played in Francis Ford Coppola films was a ruthless mobster, the Godfather had a softer side when it came to his family.
Speaking of flowers, Mendivil has painted floral pieces in which the blossoms have eyes, in some cases interacting and making a connection to each other.
And speaking of eyes, Mendivil has painted a “Cat in Love,” who has multiple eyes, each of them conveying a different emotion that a person in love might experience.
That unusual piece was inspired by the work of George Condo, Mendivil said.
As art lovers milled about the gallery during the opening reception, Sharon Rolland of Shavertown especially admired one of Mendivil’s more classic pieces — an equine portrait called “Black Beauty” that author Anna Sewell probably would have been proud to see on her classic children’s novel of the same name.
“He has perfectly captured the energy of a stallion,” Rolland said. “I can feel it, and I’m a horse person.”
Mendivil previously called New York City home, but for six years has lived in Northeastern Pennsylvania, where he appreciates “the fresher air” and “the more powerful energy.”
He is pleased to be able to present such a variety of art in his exhibit.
“We should all be free and ever evolving,” he said. “Art especially should go beyond boundaries.”
