Among the many materials that exist to make sculptures, the artist Jorge Ismael Rodriguez (Mexico City, 1960) chose obsidian. In it he finds historical particularities that refer us to a concrete, traditional past.Tezcatlipoca had as an attribute an obsidian mirror“, remember.
–Obsidian is a material of volcanic origin, It is an igneous rock —adds Jorge through the video call that allows us to chat about his work—. It was generated by fire, by heat, it melted and it was lucky enough to be in a series of circumstances to be glass and not be something else. To be this very special, magical and profound glass.
Jorge speaks with deep passion about obsidian, which is a fundamental part of his art. He also mentions that this material has virtues that other materials do not have. It is not, he means, a coincidence that he is working with this and not with something else. Nor does it all come about by chance. It is because the artist’s first solo exhibition, One, none and one hundred thousandwhich is made up of seven sculptural pieces, is made entirely of obsidian.
You might be interested in: Rocco Posca seeks to surprise himself
After describing in detail the introspection that is required or provoked by observing oneself reflected in this stone, and how it has a different charge than looking in any mirrorthe sculptor also reflects on the desacralization of art, that idea far from purity that does not allow interactions that fragment the immaculate idea that has been imposed.
“I come from a background in which sculptures are saints or heroes. As I was trained, fortunately, due to the circumstances within a space of representation, I understood some values of sculptures, and there were some that were already obsolete and no longer corresponded to our time. (One of them) It was precisely that of the distance between the person and the art object.“, he elaborates.
That is to say, the complete counterpart of another common concept within art: passive contemplation. Here the opposite happens, here narrowness and contact are necessary. He seeks to immerse his work in an “active contemplation”: “that there is physical contact, intellectual contact and that there is visual contact“It is, in the end, the breaking of the “do not touch.”
EXHIBITION COORDINATES
The name of the exhibition is a kind of tribute to the book of the same name Luigi Pirandellothe literary testament of the Italian playwright, whom the artist and history itself consider one of the creators of the theatre of the absurd. It is in this novel that Jorge Ismael Rodríguez finds not only inspiration but also a guiding thread.
Perhaps because of its existentialist characteristics, because of the games of otherness, of ambiguity, of the weight of the inevitable solitude to which the gaze of others leads. As the Mexican artist says in order to bring Pirandello back: a game of encounters and disagreements that lead to the reflection of being the individual who is not just one, but a hundred thousand.
(Returning to the exhibition), it was inevitable that the name of Tania Ragasolart historian and curator of One, none and one hundred thousand. Also trained as a three-dimensional artist, he only had words of praise for Ragasol: he highlighted his sensitivity, his intelligence and “your three-dimensional look”; and said that, despite not knowing each other until this opportunity to work together, it was “a very powerful and very nourishing encounter.”
You might be interested in: Hello Seahorse!: Not everything is perfect
Finally, although he acknowledges that his work has nothing to do with Francisco Toledothe histrionic Oaxacan artist who left an invaluable legacy, does find him inspiring for his work. The names of other prodigies of thought and literature also emerge: Walter Benjamin y Jorge Luis Borges. Perhaps it will be the task of those who attend the exhibition to discover where the traces of these geniuses are to be found in their sculptures and their thoughts.
The exhibition One, none and one hundred thousandthe artist’s first solo show, will be open to the public for two months starting this Thursday, September 19 at the brand new Ana Tejeda Gallerylocated in the Roma neighborhood. The hours to attend are between 11:00 and 19:00 hours. Admission is free.
Related
2024-09-21 14:27:53