José Dávila. Dreaming tension of matter
27/02/2015.
Travesía Cuatro Gallery [MAD] Spain 27.2>30.04.2015
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
The show features a suite of sculptures engaging with man’s unrelenting struggle against gravity. Bringing together different strands related to his interests in architecture, minimalism and the history of art, the sculptures in this project arrest a moment of suspension that enables us to better appreciate the politics of balance. Inspired by his fascination with the physical phenomenon involved, Dávila maintains the tension in a series of compositions that transmit an ominous tranquillity. The apparent calm of the sculptures is the result of a balance of forces, the support and the natural tendency to fall to earth.
Joint Effort, by José Dávila, 2014. Glass, boulder, and ratchet straps. Size.- 187x198x130 cm. Single piece. Image courtesy of Travesía Cuatro Gallery. Click above to see larger image.
Joint Effort, by José Dávila, 2014. Glass, boulder, and ratchet straps. Size.- 187x198x130 cm. Single piece. Image courtesy of Travesía Cuatro Gallery. Click above to see larger image.
Joint Effort I, by José Dávila, 2014. Glass, boulder an tie downs. Size 189 x 130 x 73.5 cmImage @ José Dávila. Click above to see larger image.
Joint Effort, by José Dávila, 2014. Mirror, stone and straps. Size.- 189x130x73,5 cm. Single piece. Image courtesy of Travesía Cuatro Gallery.
Joint Effort,, by José Dávila, 2014. Glass, mirror, and ratchet straps. Size.- 151 x 189 x 213 cm. Single piece. Image @ José Dávila. Click above to see larger image.
Homage to the square, by José Dávila, 2015. Size.- 180x180 cm. Metal frames, enamel paint and wire. Image courtesy of Travesía Cuatro Gallery.
Homage to the square, blue, by José Dávila, 2015. Metal frames, enamel paint and wire. Size.- 90x90 cm. Image courtesy of Travesía Cuatro Gallery. Click above to see larger image.
Homage to the square, red, by José Dávila, 2015. Metal frames, enamel paint and wire. Size.- 90x90 cm. Image courtesy of Travesía Cuatro Gallery. Click above to see larger image.
Allure, by José Dávila, 2014. Allure (Red and yellow). Allure Marble, straps and eyebolts. 301.1 x 177.7 x 2.3 cm. Image @ José Dávila. Click above to see larger image.
Look Mickey, by José Dávila, 2014. Cosmic black granite marble and ratchet straps. Size.- 279 x 280 x 280 cm. Click above to see larger image.
Today, 27 February Travesía Cuatro Gallery is opening a new project to coincide with José Dávila’s 10 years working with the gallery.
In this edition of the fair, in addition, Jose Davila has been awarded the First Prize NH Collection of Contemporary Art.
These pieces by Dávila are predicated on points, lines and planes—the basic elements of architecture, composition and construction. The end results are static, spatial and abstract forms combining constructive experimentation, sculpture and drawing. Contemplating these works brings to mind Borges’s words when he said “this imminence of a revelation which does not occur is, perhaps, the aesthetic phenomenon.”
Besides the solo show in the Travesia Cuatro Gallery will also exhibit at ARCOmadrid 2015 (booth 9B08) -from 25 February to 1 March- three large mobile sculptures by the artists entitled Homage to the square.
Venue.- Travesía Cuatro Gallery. C/ San Mateo 16. 28004 Madrid. Spain.
Dates.- From 27 February to 30 April 2015.
More information
JOSÉ DÁVILA
Jose Dávila (Mexico City, 1974) lives and works in Guadalajara, Mexico. Chiefly revolving around architecture and geometry, his practice explores the relationship between place and fiction, space and time. To this end, he makes use of a broad spectrum of supports and techniques, including sculpture, installation, photography and drawing. Besides his art practice, he has also been co-director and co-founder of Oficina para Proyectos de Arte (OPA) in Guadalajara, Jalisco.
Dávila has received the national scholarship for young artists from FONCA (National Fund for Culture and Arts) in Mexico in 2000-2001, and FECA (State Fund for Culture and Arts) in 2004-2005. He has had a year’s guest residency at Kunstwerke in Berlin, with the support of the Andy Warhol Foundation, and a residency at the Camden Arts Centre in London. More recently he was named Best Latin-American Artist of 2014 by ArtNexus and The Getty Foundation awarded Los Angeles Nomadic Division with a grant to undertake a mid-career survey of Dávila’s practice.
His work has been seen in many one-person and group shows in galleries and art centres all over the world and in Spanish museums including Artium in Vitoria, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Marco in Vigo. His work is in the collection of Fundación La Caixa, Fundación Arco and CA2M in Spain, as well as in leading international institutions like Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC), in Mexico City; Inhotim Collection in Brumadinho (Brazil); Albright-Knox Museum, in Buffalo, New York; the Zabludowicz Collection, London; Museum of Modern Art (MUDAM), Luxembourg; the ICA Boston; and Centre Pompidou Paris. His works are also in many private collections like Coppel, Jumex, DKV and Patricia Phelps Cisneros.
