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LA APARIENCIA DEL CONTROL

José Luis Rojas

28 Noviembre de 2012 - 24 Febrero de 2013

Espacio de exhibición: Galería

Curaduría: María Elena Ortiz

With an ironic approach towards the many moods that are consumed in the globalized world, The Semblance of Control is an exhibition that gathers sculptures by Mexican artist Jose Luis Rojas. Composed of boxes of medicine, needles, syringes, cigarette butts, and debris, the works show a fascination with miniature objects and a cynical attitude towards the industries of controlled substances and war. Meanwhile, some of the pieces are fragile compositions that point the frantic disposition drug consumption. Rojas playfully exploits the dynamics of terrorism, while approaching the levels of economic, political and cultural fragmentation that lead to the contemporary social tensions.

The exhibition highlights a significant aspect of Rojas´ work: the relationship between a personal condition and collective pathology. The V Series (2011-2012) is a set of pieces that resemble war vehicles. These are made with utensils for medical application and drug use. An installation produced for this exhibition, Milcity (2012) forms an urban entity through the fragments of medicine boxes. Its title refers to the drug “Miltown”, the first successful drug use for the treatment of anxiety on a massive scale in 1955.

Although works like Vera House (2010), Exploiting Taliban (2005), and Study of a Car Bomb (2005) deal with the proliferation of the industry of terrorism, these pieces are also formal studies on the sculptural possibilities of an explosion. Thus, the sculptures become representative of the subtlety that distinguishes the handmade qualities of Rojas´ artistic production.

With a series of solid angles, The Semblance of Control offers to the audience a space that seeks for an emotional dialogue with the artist’s proposal. Therefrom, the collective of architects comuna.A. designed a museographic space that emphasizes the minimal attributes of the work, while at the same time the explosiveness of the its social content of the work.

 

María Elena Ortiz

 

Agradecemos el apoyo de la compañía Heaven 365 Comunicación para la realización de esta exposición.

 

Conversación con José Luis Rojas (artista invitado) y María Elena Ortiz (curadora)
Sábado 23 de febrero / 11:00 hrs.

 

Entrevista con José Luis Rojas


Curated by Maria Elena Ortiz