Praxis Luics

Light, for painters Alee Garibay and Michael Delmo, is the essence of painting. Through light, the world comes into being as lines, colors, and shapes find their form. The art of painting rests on a simple truth: we see and paint what we see because there is light. Yet before the canvas, in quiet dialogue with their practice, they come to understand that painting is not only a way of looking at the world but also a turning inward, a way of meeting the self with greater clarity. Light then becomes a mirror, reflecting and unveiling what moves within even as it reveals what lies beyond the self. From this, both artists recognize painting as a vital part of their lives. It is through this shared understanding that Praxis Lucis, Latin for “light practice” or “practice in light,” emerges.

Born from their journey into painting as a way of seeing and being, this collection becomes a meditation on how light shapes both vision and reality. Within its glow, they wander and wonder, as painting becomes a way of giving light to the quiet, unseen mysteries of life. For Garibay, who recently gave birth to her third child, the studio becomes less a place for pronouncement and more a space for renewal. She does not aim to declare her ideas through her image-making; rather, she paints as a way of reclaiming and reimagining life amid new configurations, grounding her practice in painting as a means of understanding the nature of shifting realities. Her time in the studio is not only an exercise in balancing her many responsibilities, but also her introspective engagement with certain essentials. This is evident in her exploration of narrative and her ability to encapsulate the depth of meaning through singular subjects.

Having long gravitated toward religious imagery, Garibay continues to explore the many faces of spirit, at times evoking the presence of the Divine Mother or the Divine Feminine. Yet in this exhibition, her images take a step back, giving way to her materials and her painting process. Through her signature use of translucent coatings, she creates layered images that haunt the eyes and exude an ephemeral quality. Her glazing turns color into a meditation on light, how it is absorbed or at times, softened. In this play of transparencies, she captures the subtle consistencies of luminosity, revealing the delicate thresholds between seeing and sensing. The resulting surfaces shimmer between presence and disappearance, suggesting the fluidity of forms through time. Thus, the act of painting becomes both timeless and boundless, a practice that conjures illusion while affirming an objective reality beyond the surface. Her compositions, organic and effortless, unfold through gestural movements and scribbled graphemes – traces of thought and touch that lend her forms their silent solidity.

As a father of three, Delmo draws inspiration from his sons. Borrowing the sword, the staff and the bag as recurring motifs, objects that hold many layers of meaning, his works capture the spirit of adventure and a heroic sense of journey. His imagery, long rooted in the tension between the spiritual and the primal, continues to explore the delicate balance that leads toward harmony. He locates identity in the space between these opposing forces, where the rawness of instinct meets the encompassing search for the divine, giving form to the ever-evolving shape of humanness.

His works also point toward a sense of determination, allowing meaning to emerge within his compositions through the careful arrangement of elements. In his practice, he shares that method is his way of understanding things deeply, and he shares this in his works through the puzzle of decoding meaningfulness in a childlike manner. Beyond his many identities as a father, son, and husband, he is also an artist, a word that carries the weight of significance. For him, art exists within time and artists occupy a distinct role in it. In his works, we see figures of men with closed eyes, suggesting an inward vision and contemplation that is guided by purpose.

For Praxis Lucis, both Garibay and Delmo do not seek to engage in the endless redefining of the contemporary. Instead, they root themselves in the humble rhythms of family life, a shared work that is both basic, foundational and sacred. It is within this communal space that they build and sustain relationships, guided by the core of their values, their sense of responsibility, and the daily practice of tending to the greatest project they share that is their home. A household, maintained through care and attention, also sustains the luminosity of their practice as it is. They remind us through this exhibition that, “The wild geese do not intend to cast their reflection; The water has no mind to retain their image.”