Andrew Edlin Gallery is pleased to present The Cycle of Nightmares and Dreams of Maestro Roberto Fernandez Rodriguez, a solo exhibition of new paintings and woodcuts by Nicholas Sperakis. Show dates are February 6 - March 1, 2003.

This series of 9 paintings and 2 woodcuts centers around Maestro Rodriquez, a fictitious Colombian painter whom Sperakis created from a composite of various sources and influences gleaned during many years spent living in Bogota. Rodriguez is inundated by the ecstasy and explosive eroticism of his dreamlife, yet at the same time is plagued by another series of horrific nightmares. These two diametrically opposed states represent what Sperakis calls “the contradiction of the modern urban nightmare and its confrontation with the sensuality of Nature”.

The rhythm of dance and choreographic body movements play a major role in Sperakis’ mixed media compositions. Using his trademark mixture of oil and acrylic paint mixed with bee’s wax, volcanic ash, and modeling paste, Sperakis expertly creates the illusion of depth, working the layers up to an inch thick with carved grooves.

Sperakis became known for his woodcut prints in the 1960’s which are held in museum collections on four continents. He is a founding member of Rhino Horn, a 1970’s neo-expressionist figure painters group. His works are in over 50 public collections including the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Modern Art (NY), the Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá, the Australian National Gallery, and the Israel Museum (Jerusalem).