
Kate MacGarry is pleased to present Dr Lakra’s fifth solo exhibition at the gallery. His visual language is informed by myths and idols, cartoons and toys, art history and folklore and spans a wide range of media, from sculpture and painting to tattoos, artist’s books, collage and print.
The exhibition comprises new bronze sculptures and wall-mounted totems interspersed with large, black and white cutouts. The sculptures are amalgamations of religious ephemera, figures from pop culture, antique objects and erotica; the subject matter in one sculpture can quickly shift from E.T. to Buddha to a pin-up to a demon. This stark juxtaposition of objects with intense iconographic power, creates beguiling sculptures akin to secular votives and redolent of surrealist collage and ancient archetypal objects.
The black and white cutouts depict curious and strange figures; Hindu deities wearing African masks, Grecian kings with cartoon faces, Japanese warriors and Egyptian artefacts adorned with medieval helmets. Such archetypal figures were mapped by Freud in Totem and Taboo, Jung in Man and His Symbols and Joseph Campbell in The Mythic Image. Lakra has created unique icons by combining spiritual relics with symbols of contemporary culture such as toy soldiers, cuddly toys and film characters. Here, the most ordinary, commonplace objects appear sacred; the sculptures dismantle and reassemble cultural ideologies, calling to question our notions of truth and belief. It is the combination of histories and cultures that defines these artworks, their recall of ancient human culture contrasting with the brevity of contemporary culture.
Dr. Lakra was born in 1972 in Mexico City. He lives and works in Oaxaca, Mexico. Solo exhibitions include Dr Lakra, MATE, Lima, Peru (2016); Dr Lakra, Akvarelle Museet, Skarhamm, Sweden (2015); Monomito, Kurimanzutto, Mexico (2015); Mexican Demons and Dancing Skeletons, Hostelbro Kunstmuseum, Denmark (2012); Dr Lakra, Marco-Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Mexico City (2011); Dr Lakra, The Drawing Center, New York (2011); Dr Lakra, ICA Boston (2010). Group exhibitions include Shifting Sands: Hybrid Rituals & Symbols in Contemporary Culture, An exhibition of works by Serena Korda and Dr. Lakra, Modern Art Oxford, UK (2015); Magnificent Obsesions: The Artist as Collector, Barbican, London (2015); Wunderkammer: A Century of Curiosities, MOMA, New York (2007); Untitled: Pin-Up, Tate Modern, UK (2005).
Jerónimo López Ramírez—a.k.a. Dr Lakra—is a Mexican artist and tattooist who is bets known for his irreverent and provocative drawings and paintings on appropriated posters, erotic magazines and postcards . His practice however also encompasses mural painting, collage and sculpture.
The gallery was founded by Kate MacGarry in 2002 on Redchurch Street, London, where some of its represented artists, including Goshka Macuga (Poland), Francis Upritchard (New Zealand), Ben Rivers (UK) and Dr Lakra (Mexico) had their first commercial gallery exhibition. The current gallery space, originally designed by architect Tony Fretton, is on Old Nichol Street where they present six exhibitions a year. The gallery participates in international art fairs including Art Basel and Frieze London where they have presented solo projects since 2010. The gallery represents 25 emerging and established artists; most recently adding Dawn Ng, Rio Kobayashi and Mark Corfield-Moore to the roster.

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