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Sillas Núcleo (two chairs)

Mateo López
Sillas Núcleo (two chairs), 2020
Wood, turmeric & acrylic paint, varnish
Work: 74 x 50 x 50 cm

For quite a few years I have been thinking about my role as an artist, the use and purpose of an artwork, as well as its activation and functionality. Over time, I began using less rationality and more affection, emotion and hospitality as part of my approach to making art. That’s why I usually include a gesture of hospitality in my exhibitions, such as a piece of furniture to sit or lay down on. The idea being to spend time and remind yourself that you are not there just to watch, you are an active part of it. These two chairs, titled Sillas Núcleo will be replacing the chairs the gallery usually has in the space to host visitors. They are very simple chairs comprising six interlocked pieces. If you were to explode out all the individual pieces into their individual parts floating in the space, the chromatic Turmeric yellow might remind you of Hélio Oiticica’s Grande Nucleo. This work is a homage, and a reference to Oiticica and that generation of artists experimenting with the idea of a radical approach to art. - Mateo López, 2020.