"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one"
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one"
Albert Einstein
The act of representing through painting is nothing new; the paradigms, techniques and great reference points have existed for thousands of years. Observing is innate to human beings, and transferring our images of the world onto a surface has been less a voluntary development than a necessity. And yet, our ability to construct that reality through images grows more obtuse and lethargic by the day. We are increasingly bombarded with designed images meant to make us desire what will never be ours, so that our questions and doubts are reduced to market surveys and social-media statistics.
César León, aware of his role within the history of images and representation, deceives us; pulling us out of the traditional place painting is meant to occupy, taking advantage of our clumsy nature and our superficial perception of the phenomena that surround us.
Thus, tradition and dark humor are a fundamental part of his work; the verbal complement he uses takes us to unexpected places "Taking Measurements," "It's not what you're thinking!" "It looks like it, but it isn't…" become verbal and visual games that aim to hide the complexity of the simple. By representing objects with their own parts, overlaying iconic images from art history onto local settings, and questioning ourselves about the ways we transform our surroundings, León presents his particular view of things, reality as an anamorphism, which can only be seen from the platform the artist presents to us—a view we want to straighten out without losing sight of it along the way.
The show will be open to the public until January 25, 2015.
Santiago Rodríguez
Independent Curator