Cadillac Rancher and Ant Farmer Hudson Marquez posing with “Wanda’s 7 Seas,” one of the favorite pieces from “Welcome to Stiletto” at La Luz de Jesus gallery in Hollywood
In fetish art, there are mainstream artists who will occasionally crank out a fetish piece because it fits their needs, grabs attention, or to satisfy a commission. Some will be glad for the break, only to put it behind them to move on to better things. It is with a fond wink and a smile that I say that it is rare I see this go the other way around.
Despite my tirade against Juxtapoz Magazine a couple weeks ago on YouTube, I admit Hudson Marquez did happen to make it into the magazine a while back, before the publication began playing it safe. His more famous works are with the anti-commercialism, anti-media art group Ant Farm. My favorite and most recognized by my generation would be Cadillac Ranch, where the group planted finned Cadillacs nose first into Texan soil for visitors ponder its American awe while the rusting relics moon the drive for a dollar. What seized my attention in the article, were a few pieces where he painted high heel shoes. So when I got an e-mail from La Luz de Jesus in Hollywood saying he had his own showing of shoes, yer goddamned right I had to come check this out.
It speaks to me 🙂 “500 Club” by Hudson Marquez at “Welcome to Stiletto” show at La Luz de Jesus gallery in Hollywood
What surprised me most was how big these damned things are! Each piece is three foot by three foot square. They’re raw! They’re low for lowbrow. But there’s a power in them. These aren’t some quick studies for a fast buck. You can feel that he really digs what he’s doing here.
Gallery manager Matt Kennedy quickly introduced me to Marquez, and we quickly hit it off. This ain’t a dainty snowflake. He quickly questioned me about my Teamster jacket and I found out he’s a fellow teamster. Marquez handled trucks for the movie companies, working part of the year in the movie industry and used the rest of the time to get art done. It’s a focus that paid off well.
He had in his hands a set of dice-shaped Mardi Gras beads and carried them like a gambler’s rosary. As female friends and fans came to say hello, we couldn’t help but notice shoes and boots. As we talked paint and pieces, it was obvious. He gets it!  He’s not doing this for some quick attention to move on to better things. This fetish is in his blood.
Around the corner is one of Marquez earlier pieces. While the canvas is large, several small shoes are painted on the piece. For this show, he wanted to go larger. It allowed Marquez to get more comfortable with the high heels and include more details. He mentioned how he loved doing the flesh tones and gave me advice on mixing paints for the effect.
Matt Kennedy came over and pointed out the rough sketches under the paint. There are odd phallic doodles, a dog, the Joker, and they give an added subconscious to the work. They’re easy to miss at first. I really like the idea and am working that concept into a couple of my own paintings in progress.
You can tell that he’s driven by the shoes and women who wear them, and women attending the show seem to get that the most. He got a lot of hugs and respect. There’s a serious love here for what he’s doing. The mainstream will find a way to work him in. It would be a sin for his work not to make it into fashion offices around the world. But his soul lay in soles and fetish. This work is just as at home in the dungeon as in the studio, and I think there’s more to come in the years ahead.
Welcome to Stiletto by Hudson Marquez is on display until February 26th. Due to the size of the pieces, not all are on display at the gallery. For a full catalog of his safe for work shoe porn, go to http://laluzdejesus.com/marquez-kox-diaz
Dungeon Net
Hogspy
