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