I CAN'T SEE REGRET IN HERE

MARIO GARCIA TORRES

JAN MOT 
KLEINE ZAVEL 10, 1000 BRUSSEL 
9 NOVEMBER 2022 - 27 JANUARY 2023










A good layer of snow in Brussels 
at dusk

A series of six monochrome
white
off-white
grey white 

with traces 

The sizes of the paintings vary 
from 192 X 150 cm for the largest
to 60 X 40 cm for the smallest

On thick-edged frames
thin linen canvas
is stretched and covered 
with a mixture of acrylic and wax

it's precise and satisfyingly clean

and then there are these marks
on each side

framing 
the frame

TONER black marks

I look at them
as footprints 
in the snow

it catches my eye 
it makes me wonder

fingerprints?
part of fingers?
(or monkey's footprint?)
some have unidentifiable shapes 
(fists? bent thumbs? stumps?)
two hands on each side?
(teamwork?)

I start thinking about the gesture
An accidental displacement
made by delicate
but extremely dirty hands?

but the imprint only appears 
on the front of the canvas
so no grip 
but a deliberate impression
on the canvas

it's intended by the artist 
the hypothetical accident
is thought out, reproduced
accentuated, reflected upon 
and positioned 

the traces become 
a fetish signature of the artist
capable of exalting the void
with a single touch

should there have been a single canvas
rather than a series of six?

the series 
de-dramatises the gesture

the series 
helps to investigate 
the presence of the artist
a mammal 
like any other

and then there's this frame 
with a strange print
dirtier than the others
like a misprint

a real accident?

preserved to honor
the possibility 
of an undeniable misprint



Roshan Di Puppo