Galería RGR is pleased to present Pictorial Warps, Paul Muguet's first solo exhibition at the gallery. The exhibit includes a selection of works that belong to three series he began in 2016. The common interest of these series focuses on the recovery of Mexican textile motifs that are part of the culture and visual identity, to recontextualize them in the art world through painting. The exhibition will be presented from July 16 to September 10, 2022.
For the development of each series, Paul Muguet started with a specific object: the sarape, the petate, and the rug, elements that have been part of everyday life in Mexico since ancient times. Each one has social and technical symbolisms that are mixed with abstraction, geometry and some formal elements of painting.
The compositional principle in painting that belongs to the Sarapes series is the textile weave of Saltillo's typical sarapes in northern Mexico. This fabric is characterized by its vivid colors and the gradients that recall the sunrises and sunsets in the fields. According to the artist, the purpose of this series is to capture attention through an active surface with high color intensity that seems to be moving and changing.
The second series is linked to the petate. A type of woven palm mat traditionally used as a sleeping surface, for drying food under the sun, for giving birth, or as a shroud. From this element, Paul Muguet took up the diagonal pattern to interweave colors and make evident the pigment's body and texture. The act of weaving with color predominates in this series and gives the artist endless possibilities to employ different color palettes to generate diverse compositions.
In his Tapetes series, the rhombus is the main motif. In Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico, tapestry rugs are made using the loom technique, and one of the recurring elements is this figure, related to plow and ground fertility. Muguet mirrors a relationship with in some of his works by the use of primary colors, devoid of any secondary alteration.
With the development of these series, Paul Muguet generated an interest in the notion of textile and the concept of weaving. The act of interweaving or intertwining one element with another reflects a metaphor of unity and interaction. His paintings are objects at a middle point, in a cross between the symbolism of Mexican textiles and abstract painting.
Pictorial Warps covers a six year work focused on painting that revives symbolisms of objects that have accompanied subjects throughout their lives; those elements that the Mexican community has integrated as part of its cultural everyday life. Through the weaving of different colors and patterns on each work surface, Paul Muguet has gathered diverse color atmospheres with a sensation of balance and harmony. His works confront the viewer by their verticality and proportion related to the human body and the portrait to manifest the vitality that exists in the frontality between work and viewer.
About Paul Muguet
(Mexico City, 1975)
Paul Muguet studied at the Annecy School of Fine Arts and at the Nîmes Superior School of Fine Arts in France. Since 2019 is member of FONCA's Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte. Through painting and sculpture, Muguet explores what he calls: "the worries, the interests, and the emotions that emerge in a person's everyday life." Therefore, references to routine are fundamental in his work, ranging from common thoughts about death, time, and dreams to familiar objects in a person's daily experiences.
These experiences are inscribed in material cultures whose approaches to color and design are particular. Muguet reactivates the complexity that culture has integrated as a part of its visual normalcy. "Las Secuencias" (2017) and "Petates" (2018) reproduce color patterns of everyday Mexican products (bags, beds, and mats), whose complexity and diversity acquire new dimensions when recreated as paintings. Even if there exists a shared context where the patterns refer to specific objects, they coexist on a personal level, in which those very same objects stop having a shared meaning and achieve a unique one that depends on the spectator. This connection is one of the main motifs of the artist's research.
He holds a degree in Visual Arts from the School of Fine Arts of Annecy, France, and a Master in Visual Arts from the Superior School of Fine Arts of Nîmes, France. Since 2019 is member of FONCA's Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte. For Muguet, painting and sculpture are mediums that serve as a starting point to explore what he has called "the worries, the interests and the emotions that emerge in the everyday life of any person." The references to the daily life are therefore fundamental in his work, whether they are common thoughts about death, time, or dreams, or the familiar objects on which the experiences of each person are imprinted.
RGR is a contemporary art gallery committed to fostering dialogue across generations, movements, and artistic practices. Founded in 2018 in Mexico City, the gallery presents a diverse program that brings together established artists, historical legacies, and emerging voices shaping the contemporary art landscape. With a strong focus on experimentation and critical discourse, Galería RGR represents both pioneering figures in modern and contemporary art and contemporary artists exploring new frontiers in painting, sculpture, installation, and digital media. Its exhibition program encompasses a wide range of artistic approaches, from geometric precision to conceptual and expansive narratives that reflect the cultural and social context of our time.
