The Night You Love Me: Diego De la Rosa

Povos is thrilled to present The Night You Love Me, a collection of paintings by Toronto-based, Venezuelan artist Diego de la Rosa. This is the artist's first presentation with the gallery, as well as his first solo exhibition in the United States.

With The Night You Love Me, De la Rosa explores how the rise and fall of Venezuela's civil uprising, which reached a tragic fever pitch in 2017, impacted the citizens' dreams and expectations about the country's future. Referencing the "Slav Epic" series by Alfons Mucha, De la Rosa's paintings work together to construct a symbolic tale about the struggles of his people to find hope and freedom. Through intense color palettes, dramatic lighting, animal symbolism and otherworldly elements, De la Rosa depicts Venezuela and its localities with a surreal quality, combining images related to the crisis with outlandish characters and monsters inspired by local mythology, or created by the artist himself.

This epic reimagining begins with the dreams of revolution from the past and ends with the political indifference of the present, but instead of creating a sense of hopelessness, De la Rosa permeates the entire series with suggestions of resilience. Whether it is through civil uprising or day to day work, the characters in The Night You Love Me continue to showcase a striving for individual and social betterment, transforming this collection into a reflection on how humans deal with failure, and how they find the strength to navigate daily a seemingly unchanging reality.