Sign in with Google
Sign in with email
Cuban visual artist Osvaldo González's solo exhibition titled Estados, at Galleria Continua in Havana, Cuba, displays his contemporary artworks exploring spatial relationships, self-awareness and the potential subjective connections between the viewer and the recreated environment. Notably, González is recognised for using adhesive tape and light, which have become central elements—the 'leitmotiv'—in his artistic practice over the years.
"Taking the use of adhesive tape to the extreme as a fundamental material in his work, the magic lies in evoking a sense of strangeness in almost everyone who encounters his works: how is the image we see constructed? Is it a photograph, a painting or something unidentifiable at first glance? Through the use of light and added layers, he creates spaces, compositions and interior landscapes that transform architecture into the focal point of his creations," reads the press statement shared by the art gallery.
In Estados (González's first solo show at Galleria Continua in Havana), the contemporary artist returns to intimate spaces through sensations based on four groups of work evoking the four seasons— summer, autumn, winter and spring. Each group reflects the relationship between colours and the sensory experience, offering a study of the states of humans during adaptation processes, involving both, material and spiritual dimensions.
Recollecting the joy of summer and the sun's warm embrace is his renowned series Ambar, which invites viewers to bask in the warmth of colour and light on the gallery's main floor. The virtual reality artwork showcases the artist's new explorations into the virtual realm. Driven by a fascination with movement and its translation into his visual art installations, Osvaldo has sought innovative ways to express his creative vision. This led him to ponder: what would it be like to be completely immersed in a bucket of Scotch? From this inquiry emerged the concept of an interactive work that creates waves through virtual interactions with its walls. In this context, Ambar aims to induce a state of sensory exaltation, offering a unique experience crafted by Osvaldo and presented for the first time in Cuba.
For the art exhibition running from February 16 - October 26, 2024, the gallery's central area is occupied by Abantos, a site-specific art installation that utilises the nearly 12-metre height of the exhibition space to recreate from '27 trees,' the Mount of Abantos mountain range in Madrid, where Osvaldo currently resides. Creating analogies with the forest, the anatomy of trees and their movement, the large-scale installation reflects Osvaldo's deep connection with nature in his daily life. "It is then that the artist erects his own forest, one that he can move to any place, that he can share and that keeps him united to the space where he lives. Abantos takes us back to his Madrid autumn, to the ochre and orange colours, to the delicate movement of the wind and the falling leaves," the gallery describes.
Exemplifying the serendipitous nature of Osvaldo's work, two new series named Hielo (Ice) and Primavera de Jade (Jade Spring) respectively, promise to surprise viewers—"one reclaims winter and the other restores our faith in spring," shares Galleria Continua.
Hielo invites introspection often associated with winter. Here, adhesive tape plays a role in the creation process but ultimately disappears in the final piece, leaving only its traces etched into the resin plate, resulting in a sense of three-dimensionality enhanced by the effect of shadows.
Primavera de Jade represents a significant evolution in Osvaldo's career. Like Ambar, it serves as a tribute to his daughter while also incorporating various influences that inspired him to explore new colour palettes. Jade symbolises rebirth, salvation and optimism in the face of positive changes that have impacted his life and family. This series evokes a sense of nostalgia, connecting to Cuban landscapes and the longing for home.
What do you think?