The Fire of Heaven

The Fire of Heaven presents the work of Enrique Martnez Celaya in conversation with the life and work of the influential twentieth-century California poet Robinson Jeffers. Despite existing in different lifetimes, Jeffers approach to life as art and his reverence for the natural beauty of the California coastline inextricably link the uncompromising poet to Celaya. The artists multi-faceted practice explores the map of a territory shaped by self, memory, ideations of home, exile, myth, and identity. His practice presumes art should be an ethical effort that aims to understand better and be engaged with the world and ourselves. Beyond these threads of commonality, Celaya draws from specific Jeffers writings, such as the 1928 poem The Summit Redwood, which serves as the exhibitions namesake and describes the fire from heaven as a force untamed and ignited at whim. Celayas work created during his stay at the poets landmark home in Carmel-by-the-Sea is complemented by Jeffers handwritten poems, notes, and photographs.