She came with gifts of gold

Claudia Hecht's art will be on display in the University Union Exhibit Lounge until Nov. 6. Jennifer Coleman/State Hornet

By GINA MAUCIERI
HORNET STAFF WRITER
Published October 21, 1998

A turquoise and orange painting depicts a full-grown adult woman emerging from her mother's womb. A smiling gold and bronze hermaphrodite sculpture with male features on one side and female features on the other holds a plate atop its head. Encased in another sculpture, a large eye is surrounded by many smaller eyes gazing in different directions.

Mexican artist Claudia Hecht arrived in a bright red suit and matching lipstick that reflected the brilliant spectrum of colors portrayed in her artwork.

Her artwork is on display in the University Union Exhibit Lounge.

Featuring many paintings and several sculptures, the exhibit showcases her works from the past two years, which Hecht said are "inspired by pre-Colombian ideas, but done in a contemporary way. This technique is a contribution from Mexico to the world of art."

Raised in Guadalajara, where she still lives, Hecht has used her culturally-rich environment to her advantage, creating a unique and personal style.

Her work involves creating a surface with gold leaves, painting it, and then manually engraving details, creating thousands of tiny holes by tapping a nail into the artwork. Hecht usually paints on wood or metal against a sheet of glass. One overly forceful tap with the hammer could shatter the glass backing and destroy the painting.

The golden surface seen in her paintings is, in itself, part of a painstaking process in which Hecht must "cook a mixture for the gold leaf, polish it with agate so it has shine, and apply many layers." After painting and engraving the fragile golden surface, she applies a clear protectant over it.

She scratched a fingernail across a painting to illustrate its scratch resistance.

"The time it takes me to prepare my canvas is the time it would take someone else to finish a painting," Hecht said.

In addition to her creations on wood, glass and metal, Hecht's thought-provoking paintings sometimes appear on a more traditional canvas as well.

Her influence is not limited to Latin American themes. The metal sculptures on display in the Exhibit Lounge evoke an African element. One of these, "La Hermafrodita," ("The Hermaphrodite," mentioned earlier) is two-sided, depicting a man with closed eyes on one side, and a woman with eyes open on the other. Hecht said this sculpture, like many of her paintings, has an erotic sub-theme.

Though she comes from an artistic family, Hecht's educational background is not art-centered. She has a degree in business and marketing, and though she studied dance for several years, she did not begin sculpture until 1991.

"I started as a complement to what I was doing," Hecht said. At that time, and for several years, she would create religious sculptures of archangels, working under the Italian artist Guilio D'Arolio.

These sculptures, aside from their gold paint, hardly resemble her current work.

In 1995, Hecht created her first completely original painting.

"I was working for a gallery at the time. I wanted to create a birthday gift for a friend, and I was very low on money. So, I just started drawing."

Hecht ended up not going to the birthday party, but she took the painting based on that drawing to her next exhibit, and it was the first piece that sold.

"Before, it was just archangels. I wanted to do something that was Claudia Hecht," she said.

Today, Hecht's new found freedom allows her to explore her own abstract ideas. For example, in the wood and bronze sculpture, "Sexto Sentido" ("Sixth Sense.")

"There are many eyes in the one eye. If you have the ability to see many different aspects of things, it's like a sixth sense," she said.

And in the painting "Volver a Nacer" ("Born Again"), it appears as though someone is giving birth to a full-grown adult.

"There are so many situations in life where you start something and then you are reborn and start over again," said Hecht.

Some of the paintings on display, including "Esencia" ("Essence"), have hidden pictures that can be seen by looking at the painting from different angles.

"I love to do things that are hidden and unless you look closely, you won't see them," said Hecht.

At the exhibit's opening, students and visitors were able to meet Hecht and experience her art.

"(Hecht's art) is very abstract, but the message is indigenous -- from North America down into the Andes," said Gustavo Cardenas, who is pursuing a master's degree in education. "There's a lot of detail work and colors, but it's definitely very native and spiritual. You can see a lot of history in what she draws."

Rosa Chavez, a junior majoring in apparel/textile design said, "This is incredible stuff. It makes me proud to know that a Mexican woman has come a long way and has come to the United States to show her art."

Hecht's art, which will be on display until Nov. 6, is for sale. Meanwhile, she has returned to Guadalajara to create more paintings and sculptures.