
OMR is pleased to present Grava Suelta (Loose Gravel), Jose Dávila‘s fourth solo exhibition at the gallery, where under a new body of work, the artist brings together ideas that have been circulating in his work for the last few years: form, memory, desire, liberation, registration, doubt and discovery. These become relevant through a review of the history of art and structural institutions with the force of gravity. The past and the present are traversed through the search and the fight for a world where happiness—and beauty—can take place.
The new series of paintings deals specifically with a recurring theme worked on by artists such as Hilma af Klint, Walter Dexel, Willys de Castro and Sonia Delaunay: the circle. They are works that follow on a path already walked, using the graphic and pictorial history of the geometric form as the very raw material of the work.
Simultaneously intertwined, a new series of cut-outs derive from abstract paintings by Roy Lichtenstein. The works of the American artist are meta, in the sense that they are paintings on the pictorial, and the cut-outs presented by Dávila are abstractions on the abstract: zoom-ins of Lichtenstein’s work, where the original trace disappears to leave only a suggestion of the origin. The series of sculptures that Dávila presents at OMR focuses on themes that have been consistently prevalent throughout his career; a visual articulation of the force of gravity through precarious balance and a desire to draw attention to historical references in art. For Dávila, the world that surrounds us contains an infinity of geometric structures and sculpture must behave as an adhesive territory where not only weights are negotiated, but also the expressiveness of matter, fragility and hardness, resistance and adaptability, or the symbolic character of the present and the past, through the objects and the stories they represent.
Through his multidisciplinary approach to creation and perceptual investigation, Dávila immerses viewers in the carefully constructed, expansive, and geometric worlds for this exhibition.
Jose Dávila’s work, nurtured by his architecture formation, makes constant reflections on modern architecture and urbanism, contemporary art, its forecasts and failures. With references such as architectural utopias or milestones in twentieth century art, Dávila approaches the vital contradictions between form and function. His hybrid structures can become cold or warm, light and heavy, producing signs of functionality, which are impossible to discern, and whose meaning varies between architecture and art.

OMR is a contemporary art gallery in Mexico City, founded by Patricia Ortiz Monasterio and Jaime Riestra in 1983. Over the past four decades, the gallery has fostered and developed the careers of numerous emerging and established artists throughout Latin America and globally; OMR has established itself as a pioneering Mexican contemporary art space, presenting over 400 exhibitions across all media and genres, and participating in art fairs around the world.

A respected voice in contemporary art discourse.
Focusing on ambitious storytelling and insightful art-world commentary. Ocula Magazine publishes in-depth interviews, critical essays and timely analysis on the artists, exhibitions and ideas driving the global art world.
Learn more about Ocula Magazine
Showcasing the best of the art world.
Ocula partners with galleries from around the world to highlight their artists, artworks and exhibitions. Gallery membership is by application and invitation, with each member vetted by an independent panel.
Learn more about Ocula Membership
Specialises in the sale of major artworks.
Led by a team with deep ties to the world’s leading auction houses, galleries and collectors. Ocula’s advisory team offers bespoke services to high-net-worth clients from around the world who are looking to acquire the best of contemporary and modern art.
Learn more about our team and services