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Oniric Realities. Abstraction in the Life and Work of Jorge Riveros

Oniric Realities. Abstraction in the Life and Work of Jorge Riveros

The emergence of abstraction as an artistic movement in the 20th century gave rise to distinct identities in Latin America, heavily influenced by universal constructivism and modernism. In Colombia, the growing interest in abstract languages during the mid-20th century led to the development of new voices that enriched the historical legacy of the genre. Among the most expressive and profound of these voices is undoubtedly Jorge Riveros, whose initial geometric approach to abstraction emerged through Eurocentric tendencies that evolved into a singular form of abstraction.

Riveros emigrated to Germany in the 1960s, and it was during his stay in Bonn he discovered the tradition of German geometric abstraction, giving rise to a series of works strongly tied to the genre, forging a distinctive visual identity that would accompany him throughout his life; however, many of his works created in Germany were sketches that found their realization in his last exhibit at our space; they were presented through various mediums and formats, works on canvas, wood, xilogravures, and monumental sculptures, which today form part of his extensive oeuvre. Over time, Riveros' abstract geometric universe has not remained static; instead, it has evolved through various stages, series, and modes of expression, expanding prolifically and limitlessly to the present day.

Through the evolution of his work, Jorge Riveros offers unique opportunities to explore countless worlds that manifest throughout his expansive artistic career. This journey, which spans more than 70 years of tireless dedication grounded in profound and disciplined research, is a testament to his unique artistic evolution.

In his oeuvre, we encounter ideas rigorously expressed through a geometric interpretation in some of the works selected for this exhibit; in others, abstractions emerge, revealing forms intertwined with ancestral iconographies, added to previously unseen pieces gesturally characterized and with an abstraction that differs from the playful geometry of parallel works. These elements, collectively, form a tribute to the philosophy rooted in universal constructivism, resting upon an absolute abstraction as Irving Sandler described when theorizing Torres García's work, which he believed was "motivated by a passionate mystical-metaphysical concept of universal history. Uniting geometry, abstraction, and the painting of his time…".

It is essential to underscore that Riveros' work reflects the mandate of Joaquín Torres García, who, adhering to the absolute principles of universal constructivism, delved into an abstract language that, through each of his works, leads to "unity as the pure principle of all things."

The exhibited works were created over seven decades, marked by social adversities that foretold dark times. Yet, in the present, these works reveal a hope that no one could have predicted. Every piece is an eloquent witness, heralding the arrival of a promising and optimistic future, now realized in their presence.

Jorge Riveros is an internationally renowned artist, educator, visual philosopher, and art theorist. His decades of lectures at Colombia's most prestigious institutions and his role as a rigorous teacher to a generation of young artists who were trained under the strict discipline of his instruction are a testament to his significant contributions. In his work and life, Riveros embodies the austerity that abstraction demands and the inherent sublimity that any work of lasting significance commands. Abstract, constructivist in both spirit and form, geometric by nature, a painter's painter in every sense, sculptor, muralist, and founder of a school, but above all, a champion of resilience and a bearer of a timeless message that, in all meritocracies, commands both our admiration and the artistic pride of Colombia.

Francisco Arévalo

Curator
Modernisms: Simultaneously and Sistematically

Modernisms: Simultaneously and Sistematically

"The year is 1959, and I am thinking about an art exhibition for the future. Currently, we are obsessed with this figure of time and the future of humanity. According to the press articles I read, everything indicates that civilization will be wonderful in no more than half a century, and the significant problems of humanity will be resolved. There will be automated farms that solve the world's food problems; we will be able to reach the Moon and other planets and inhabit extraterrestrial spaces in climate-controlled capsules. Houses will be fully automated; we will have the help of intelligent robots for all tasks, and transport vehicles will reach the speed of light. This year precisely, the Chicago Tribune began publishing a comic strip on Sundays titled "Closer than we think" (the clipping of which I received thanks to the correspondence of a great friend in that city), which illustrates, in an optimistic tone, the technological wonders that the next generation after mine will have the privilege of enjoy. Many of my architect colleagues share this optimistic vision of the future and apply it mainly in constructing "living machines" that they will design following the created precepts of modernity.

Given the current advancement of technology and the speed with which it develops, the art of the future will also be something unimaginable to our minds. Art will use invisible materials, and museums will use anti-gravity technology to create psychoactive and sensory experiences beyond our consciousness and intellect. Tomorrow is projected as a line toward infinity, like a rocket traveling into space. However, I refuse to believe that time is a straight line dominated by an optimistic view of progress. I consider that time is not linear but cyclical. The progress we imagine today, contrary to what the press sells us, could be the downfall of the years to come. Will advances in medicine lead to overpopulation that will trigger unprecedented famine and injustice? Before taking us to the Moon, will the space and nuclear race instead take us to a catastrophe? In 60 years, will we, instead of wonderful technological creations, be making art again in the caves with the by-produced coal of modern civilization?

With these doubts in mind, and leaving aside the pessimistic outcome mentioned above, I conceived today, in 1959, the idea of a future exhibition with the following premises to be developed by other artists:

• In 60 years, the future will be uncertain. The artists will reflect on the past.

• They will use images from this modern era to question, build on, or enjoy them as messages from a naive era that believed in the future.

• After experimenting with the most extraordinary materials, you will return to traditional techniques, such as fabric, burlap, oil, paper, collage, and basic shapes.

• The exhibition's architecture will consist of a diagonal panel measuring more than 20 meters that crosses the rectangular exhibition hall. This line symbolizes progress but will let the viewer reach a blind spot, thus causing them to return to their initial starting point."

Lucio Celis, 1959

Curator
ARCO Lisboa 2024 ‎| Opeining Section ‎| BOOTH OP05

Exhibitions
ARCO Lisboa
Opening Section 23 - 26 May 2024
Responding to the curatorial call of curators Luiza Teixeira de Freitas and Chus Martínez, we attend Arco Lisboa 2024 with the spirit and intention that the curated OPENING section demands: to present artists who, through their work, define new means of expression conveying creative contexts that invite to a reflection designed to expand new artistic languages. The artworks exhibited, created from laborious and dedicated research, diversify and expand the knowledge of the art world. We attend this extraordinary curatorial call with two artists represented by our gallery, Antonio Pichillá Quiacain (Guatemala, 1982), who presents some of his most recent artworks created in his Atitlan studio, and Samuel Sarmiento (Venezuela, 1987), who brings his most recent production of work created at his artist residency in Delft.
Luis Fernando Zapata, "Estela I", Paper pulp, pigments, 74 3/4 x 50 3/8 in. ND

The Immemorial
Luis Fernando Zapata
Luis Fernando Zapata (Colombia. 1951-1994)

Luis Fernando Zapata was an artist deeply committed to a practice that immanently reflected the inevitable reflections that arise when we confront the fragility of our existence. His exhaustive research into Mesoamerican, transcontinental Egyptian, and Middle Eastern cultures, the advent of the HIV epidemic, and the inevitable and progressive physical deterioration in those who, like him, carried it, sustained his practice, and indelibly influenced his artistic iconography, poetically focusing it on the expression of imponderable and eternal notions.

Implicit in the character of his works was an inclination towards a restricted gesture, a presence that does not cause a disturbance, nourished by a provincial origin that kept him safe from any fickleness of current artistic events. Fatality would make this natural principle the best vehicle for its searches and idealized reconstructions of ancient rites and magical invocations.

The work of Luis Fernando Zapata from 1990 onwards refers to an investigation into the first artistic forms, to the mystery of the disappearance of art and the reasons for its existence. However, the support of his pieces transcends the naturalistic essence of ancient art as understood by the figures of animalistic intention found in his expressions. His iconography is part of the context in which, through the symbolism discovered in archaeological excavations of ancestral funerary practices, attempts are made to discover "doors of light" toward new visions of our world.

Derrida suggests that "there is no cinder without fire" and that cinder is both a bodily imprint and a reminder of the flame that can never be restored. Through his works, Zapata manages to transcend his physical condition, extend the limits of memory, and strengthen the fragility of conception by physically manifesting it. And so, he restores in us the seemingly extinct flame.

"The immemorial," the emblematic title of our exhibition, is inspired by the semantics of Jean-François Lyotard, who describes 'the immemorial' as "that which can never be remembered or forgotten, is that which returns mysteriously." Now, on the 30th anniversary of his premature departure due to complications related to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, we celebrate his life, honoring his artistic creativity and presenting the most iconic series that comprehensively represents the entirety of his trajectory in our exhibition. -

There is no alternative for those of us who remained and were witnesses. Summarizing the sublime in words is impossible. We are brought to a standstill; looking, inevitably seeing, and contemplating each line and gesture is now our job. No one can plagiarize its existence; each work is a poem, an omen, a sponsorship, or an incitement.

Luis Fernando Zapata suspends himself in the lightness of his being; he walks because the wind wants him to; he does not know his destiny; we know his actions, but not his being, like the clouds.

Artsy Online Show - The Immemorial
ZONA MACO 2024

"EGO GEO"

Galería Elvira Moreno is proud to show in the XX version of Zona Maco 2024 six Latin American artists who manifest the apparent pragmatism of geometric abstraction but who, beyond its visual context, lead us to reflect on the problems and historical references of modernism.

Federico Ovalles (Venezuela, 1982) and Lucio Celis (Colombia, 1927*) discuss the utopian proposals for social transformation of a dystopian Latin American modernism, evidencing the unrealizable promises expressed in the socio-political context that demagogically predicted a falsely promising future. The now unpublished works of Ernesto Briel (Cuba, 1943-1993) reclaim, through an optical and constructivist geometry, the historical place that was denied to him by a totalitarian state that punished homosexuality with prison and exile. The work of Eduardo Terrazas (Mexico, 1936) follows a constructive will inspired by ancestral traditions that precede the Eurocentric vision of modernism and invites us to reflect on the cosmogonies that give rise to the order and language of his creations. Jorge Riveros (Colombia, 1934) builds totemic wood sculptures that reflect the stelae's verticality and stylistic complexity. He captures geometric iconography inspired by the glyphs used in the original ideography of his region. Antonio Pichilla (Guatemala, 1982), a Guatemalan artist belonging to the Mayan Tz'utujil ethnic group, links his work to post-colonialist expressions that redefine the atavistic practices of his ethnic group. The conscious use of geometry and color persists in his work through the sophisticated renewal of the ancient craft of weaving.

Our exhibition recognizes the transcendence of Latin American geometric abstraction, the basis on which the contemporaneity of our artists carries strong messages that transcend the aesthetics of their execution.

*Alter Ego by Luis F Ramirez Celis (Colombia, 1969)
Rafael Echeverri, "Sin Título", Acrílico sobre tela, 35.4 x 35.4 in. 1995.

Everything Which We Love is Lost

ASPECTS OF MODERNISM AND CONTEMPORANEITY IN BLACK AND WHITE

No element that composes art history can be isolated; each is a block in which the construe of the future is either predestined or defined.

Galería Elvira Moreno bases its curatorial selection of this exhibit on two transcendental figures in art history. The first, Rene D'Harnoncourt, director of the curatorial departments at MoMA in the mid-20th century who stated: "Modern Art is not an isolated phenomenon in history, but is, like the art of any period, an integral part of the art of all ages, as well as an expression of its epoch" and Kazimir Malevich, whose Suprematist manifesto laid the foundation for modern artistic expression. Under the alighting of both premises, our gallery has decided to curate an aspect of artists that spam from the last decades of the 20th century up to the nascent decades of the 21st, ranging from those that are nowadays the fundaments of contemporaneity to contemporaneity itself.

We've chosen the emblematic visual context of works expressed in Black and White inspired by Malevich's statement: "The black square on the white field was the first form that expressed a non-objective form in painting "feeling." The (black) square equals one's feeling, and the white field equals the void beyond this feeling."

"Everything which we love is lost" was what the public said at seeing Malevich's "Black Square," denoting that all art, as previously expressed, was lost. Yet, his work was an invitation to ascend into the purest sensation that art sublimely evokes, far from dogmas or chronological, stylistic, or formal classification, refined and basic, secular yet spiritual, black and white.
Antonio Pichillá. Abuela. Threads, wool and maguey. 43 x 31 x 2 in. 2019.

Artists
ANTONIO PICHILLÁ QUIACAÍN
Ximoneem k'in Soloneem: Anudar y Desanudar
With the first comprehensive exhibit in Colombia of the Tz'utujil-Guatemalan artist Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín, Galería Elvira Moreno gives continuity to its commitment to Latin American artists that further our understanding of contemporaneity, especially those that have worked exhaustively at the margins of a segregating culture.

Pichillás’ artworks showcase his Tz'utujil heritage and celebrate the uniqueness of an identity that was suppressed and marginalized by the cultural restrictions imposed by colonialism. Our exhibit heralds a transcendental message, as the exhibit's title highlights it; objectively, his pieces delve into the life processes that give rise to situations that obstruct our development and existence and hinder our spiritual growth, and upon such discovery, his artworks incite us to enact on those that untie them.

Antonio’s works are rooted in the ancestral traditions of his culture; each tied and woven thread is an invitation to reflect on the possibilities of life challenges and resolutions. Emblematically, his art incorporates iconic symbols found in the traditional weavings of his region, showcasing the vast diversity of his history. Overall, his artwork is profound and metaphoric, inviting viewers to reflect on the possibilities of life and the undeniable historical importance of his Mayan heritage.
NEWS
ARTBO 2024

ARTBO 2024

We are pleased to announce our participation in the Main Section of Bogota's International Art Fair, ARTBO 2024, with the curatorial proposal titled "FORM and forms In meta-physics", which comprises a selection of artists who explore the topic of FORMS (conventionally capitalized and also commonly translated as "Ideas") as the non-physical, timeless, absolute, immutable essences of all things, of which objects and matter in the physical world are mere imitations.

The works exhibited in our space encourage reflection and research while serving as philosophical references for other participating spaces at the fair, creating a research laboratory that transcends the commercial focus of similar events and celebrating the extraordinary contributions and opportunities for reflection that ARTBO has fostered over the past 20 editions.

In ARTBO 2024, FORM is brought to form and manifested physically through the procedures of surface modeling, the use of physical materials, the body, and space, that is, the perception of visual phenomena ranging from the recognition of FORM to the encoding/decoding of information, reading and understanding of form beyond its affiliation to ethnicity, materials, gender characterizations, region, affiliation or socio-political message. We exist in the sublime of its presence, and our perception extends in the reflections of its message. Thus, we start from the idea to its physicality and from there to the idea again, algorithmically expanding the presence of art in our existence.

Home

Oniric Realities. Abstraction in the Life and Work of Jorge Riveros

Modernisms: Simultaneously and Sistematically

ARCO Lisboa

The Immemorial

ZONA MACO 2024

Everything Which We Love is Lost

ANTONIO PICHILLÁ QUIACAÍN

NEWS

Antonio Pichilla @ Stedjlik Museum Amsterdam. UNRAVEL The Power And Politics Of Textiles In Art

Antonio Pichilla @ Raven Row, London. Chronoplasticity. How to Eat a Rolex

Antonio Pichilla Nominated @ Art Nexus EFG Latin American Art Award ARTBO 2024

ArtBo 2024

Antonio Pichilla @ARTFORUM Oct 2024.

Antonio Pichillá @ MGLC Švicarija, Slovenia

Federico Ovalles @ Baro Gallery, Mallorca

Federico Ovalles @ Artishock Magazine

Francisco Arévalo @ DC Foundation, Miami

Joaquín Segura @ Tierra y Qué

Beatriz Grau @ Galería Del Portillo

Joaquin segura @ cerámica suro, Mexico

David Diaz @ Centro Nacional de las Artes Delia Zapata

Samuel Sarmiento @ Artishock Magazine

Antonio Pichillá @ IL POSTO, Chile

Federico Ovalles @ Museo de arte del tolima

Poéticas visuales, arte concreto y minimalismo latinoamericano

Federico Ovalles, Beatriz Grau & Samuel Sarmiento @ Trafico Visual

Samuel Sarmiento @ Biblioteca Nacional de Aruba

Beatriz Grau @ Casa Octava

Samuel Sarmiento @ ArPa Art Fair

Eduardo Terrazas @ La Biennale di Venezia

Antonio Pichillá @ El Espacio 23

Antonio Pichillá and Samuel Sarmiento @ Simões de Assis

Galería Elvira Moreno @ ARCO Lisboa

David Diaz @ Casa de América, Madrid

Galería Elvira Moreno @ARTBO Fin de Semana, Bogotá

Federico Ovalles Open Studio, Bogotá

Samuel Sarmiento and Antonio Pichillá @ Hatch, Milan

Jorge Riveros and Antonio Pichillá @ SP Arte, São Paulo

Antonio Pichillá @ ISLAA, New York

Samuel Sarmiento @ EKWC, Oisterwijk

Joaquin Segura @ Malta Biennale, Malta

Antonio Pichilla @ El Pais

Antonio Pichillá @ Architectural Digest Spain

Jorge Riveros @ Fundación Juan March, Madrid

JCMC Collection acquires Antonio Pichillá's work, Miami

Jorge Pérez Collection acquires Antonio Pichillá's work, Miami

Galería Elvira Moreno @ MoCuLat

Samuel Sarmiento @ Museum Prinsenhof, Delft

Antonio Pichillá @ Barbican Centre, London

Luis Caballero's works @ Cecilia Brunson Projects, London

Galería Elvira Moreno @ Zonamaco, Mexico City

Jorge Riveros @ Museum of Modern Art of Bucaramanga

Beatriz Grau @ Prodavinci

MALBA Museum acquires Antonio Pichillá's work, Buenos Aires

Samuel Sarmiento @ Architectural Digest Spain

Beatriz Grau @ El Archivo

Antonio Pichillá @ Art Basel, Miami

Samuel Sarmiento @ Vortic Art

Liz Callejas @ Goethe Institut, Bogotá

Galería Elvira Moreno @ArtBo 2023, Bogotá

Joaquin Segura @ ICAN, New York

Samuel Sarmiento @ Red Lodge Clay Center, Montana

David Diaz @ Perú's Embassy in Argentina

Joaquin Segura @ Art Cologne, Cologne

Joaquin Segura @ Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City

David Diaz @ Xapiri Ground, Cusco

Antonio Pichillá @ 22nd Biennial Sesc_Videobrasil Interview, São Paulo

Jorge Riveros @ MAMBO, Bogotá

Jorge Riveros @ Estampa, Madrid

Antonio Pichillá @ 22nd Biennial Sesc_VideoBrasil, São Paulo

Samuel Sarmiento @ Artishock Magazine

Samuel Sarmiento @ Galería Elvira Moreno, Bogotá

Joaquin Segura @ Fiendish Plots, Lincoln

Antonio Pichillá @ Luciana Brito Galería, São Paulo

Jorge Riveros @ Fundación Juan March, Madrid

Joaquin Segura @ The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

Antonio Pichillá @ Elizabeth Xi Bauer Gallery, London

Julia Carrillo and Joaquin Segura winners @ SNCA, Mexico City

Joaquin Segura @ Fountainhead Arts, Miami