Marking the gallery's inaugural participation in The Armory Show, Galería RGR is pleased to showcase a selection of paintings, photography, sculpture and mixed media works by the gallery's artists program and estates.
The canon of abstract art history is constantly under construction, with new perspectives appearing on the scene, which nurtures a multicultural vision of the movement. For this reason, the proposal —exhibited for Armory's 28th Anniversary edition— features internationally positioned artists, who among their differences, one may find an appropriate dialogue to reinterpret abstractionism in the 21st century.
On the one hand, the booth presents iconic pieces by artists who marked the Latin American contemporary art scene such as Oswaldo Vigas, Carlos Cruz-Diez and Julio Le Parc. Oswaldo Vigas linked his work to Venezuelan visual culture and primitivist aesthetics; Cruz-Diez established a distinctive way of painting with color in space and time; and Julio Le Parc has developed a social and political commitment that conceives viewers not only as participants in the works but as co-authors.
On the other hand, more recent proposals that have given continuity to abstractionism, within perspectives that highlight both different socio-cultural spheres and new formal aspects, were included. Following a social and political line, Patrick Hamilton proposes — drawn from his photographs of the Atacama Desert intervened with copper plate— a kind of archaeological memory that investigates the history, politics and economy in Chile. Felipe Pantone, on his part, contributes to the critical dialogue through his artistic practice which converges urban culture and the digital revolution.
In technical terms, Diego Pérez carries out a material exploration from two sculptures made in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Perez builds limestone cubes carved on all sides to generate micro spaces with a magical atmosphere, evoking places belonging to vanished cultures or sacred sites. On the other hand, Matthias Bitzer resorts to unusual materials, a range of geometrical patterns, superimposed images and cartoons with minimalist elements to create an imaginary ecosystem that defies human rationality.
The exhibition is based on historiographic research, as it investigates the capacity of the visual language of different artists to be incorporated into the history of abstraction. Through works that are defined by their experimentation and plurality, it is possible to follow innovations in the way of producing and experiencing artistic objects. In this way, new horizons for abstractionism and, consequently, different approaches to the history of contemporary art are raised.