LEONEL SALGUERO

In The Pressure of Time, his first solo exhibition at BODEGA, time becomes visible through its effects: light that gradually alters the appearance of a surface; erosion that renders an image nearly illegible; traces of an earlier painting that remains underneath a previous one; or an artwork that tells a story of damage and a subsequent restoration. Ornamental frames, paint tubes, and accidental reflections become points of departure for considering not only what a painting represents, but the material and historical circumstances that make its existence possible.

Salguero’s practice is grounded in sustained, almost cyclical observation. Shifts in opacity, transparency, speed of execution, and light allow his images to move between precision and ambiguity. Everyday objects are given the attention and intensity more commonly associated with portraiture, taking on a presence that feels at once strange and familiar. His paintings seem to hold several moments at once: the instant something was seen, the time spent painting it, and the histories that came before it.

Leonel Salguero lives and works in New York. He graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado “La Esmeralda” in Mexico City. Recent exhibitions include April Foolery (Ray Smith Studio, New York, 2026); This Song Will Last Forever (Ki Smith Gallery, New York, 2025); Hot Clock Rhythm (Climate Control, San Francisco, 2024); Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon (Galería Agustina Ferreyra, Mexico City, 2024); The Garden of Eden (Climate Control, San Francisco, 2023); Works on Paper on Fridges (Harkawik, New York, 2022); and a solo presentation at Paris Internationale with Galería Agustina Ferreyra (2022).

Courtesy OMR