Leme

10° 00 S / 76° 00 W

12 Sep - 13 Oct 2007

© Esteban Igartua
Untitled, 2007
oil on canvas
35,5 x 40,7 cm
10° 00 S / 76° 00 W

Sandra Gamarra, Gabriel Acevedo Velarde, José Carlos Martinat, Ishmael Randall Weeks, Gilda Mantilla, Raimond Chaves, Esteban Igartua, Philippe Gruenberg, Eduardo Hirose and Miguel Aguirre

09.12.07 - 10.13.07

The world’s boundaries continuously become more blurred; identities more complex and layered. Information is reproduced and travels the globe at the speed of light; people connect and communicate remotely with each other, adopt avatars and dedicate themselves to virtual second lives.
Does a single (geographical) location provide a reliable or valuable reference for identities, cultures, traditions and their by-products? Coherence and distance no longer relate to each other linearly. With this in mind, Galeria Leme is pleased to present 10° 00 S / 76° 00 W, a group show with works by 10 artists working in different media, who all have “a foot in Peru” at some sort of level, but are not necessarily Peruvian or based in the country.
Sandra Gamarra (b. Lima, Peru - 1972. Lives and works in Madrid ) shows Las chicas del Catálogo, a group of 21 small format paintings that reproduce pages of an Artfair catalogue. Through her appropriation of others ́ works as reproduced in print, she questions the experience of art today, communication and the implications of mass reproduction.
Miguel Aguirre (b. Lima, Peru - 1973. Lives and works in Barcelona). 26 diciembre (this is the portrait of JonBenet Ramsey), is a triptych - two paintings and a newspaper page. Miguel uses John Mark Karr ́s assassination of 7 year old US Miss, JonBenet, as a vehicle to question the power of an image, the media and the illusory realities and identities inspired by the ill-fed mind.
Esteban Igartua (b. Lima, Peru - 1974. Lives and works in Bristol, UK). Phantasmagoric images; intricately detailed and crafted, Esteban ́s works describe a fantastic reality somehow connected to the real world. The uncertainty as to the level of this connection and how these images, on the surface so fantastic, reflect elements recognizable to us all heightens their eeriness. Esteban ́s responses to elements drawn from life, dreams, memories, books, paintings and mass media channels of communication.
Gabriel Acevedo Velarde (b. Lima, Peru - 1976. Lives and works in Berlin) Presents a series of 03 black and white images of Bone-Fireworks in a poetically-pop manifestation of the associations and realities that represent his mind and that albeit seeming incongruous when described, appear fluid and possible. “I think I like to analyse how I react to different things, in order to find how my mind creates intricate lies to preserve the established order. Then I try to take out the elements that confirm the story my brain has made up.”
Eduardo Hirose (b. Lima, Peru - 1975. Lives and works in Lima) Identity is the central theme of a series of sharp black and white photographs that document the austro-german community of Pozuzo established in 1859, deep in the Peruvian jungle. Their isolated existence for over 100 years was impacted by the construction of a motorway in 1975, influencing their original social, geographical and ethnic characteristics.
Ishmael Randall Weeks (b. Cusco, Peru - 1976. Lives and works in Lima and New York) Uses architectural principles, prints, drawing and collage in creating imaginary spaces that are intricately structured and constructed. The 03 works on show evoke urban dream-like environments that appeal to a sense of uncertainty and the dichotomy of regulated chaos.
Phillipe Gruenberg (b. Lima, Peru - 1972. Lives and works in Lima) Since 2005, the stadiums and quarters of the major football clubs in Peru’s first division, have been the focus of Philippe’s photographic lens. In a collection of images that toy with notions of public and private realms as well as anonymity and fame, the empty spaces featured, are representative of a collective imaginary. As such, the absence is a space for the private articulation of infinite scenarios. Phillipe exhibited in São Paulo at the 25th SP Biennial in 2002.
José Carlos Martinat (b. Lima, Peru - 1974; Lives and works in Lima) AER-3/Brutalismo dwells in a space between physical and social architectures and archetypes. The iconic Peruvian “Pentagonito” model installed in the gallery remits the home to the Peruvian secret service; the gallery, São Paulo ́s (architectural) brutalism. The mechanised model serves as a cocoon for images and texts it spouts out. The association between “brutalisms”, brings forth dualistic associations spun from the dark history of the Pentagonito, juxtaposed to the allure of a brutal form.
Raimond Chaves (b. Bogotá, Colombia - 1963. Lives and works in Lima and Barcelona). The selection of black on white drawings on show, explore visual communication as inspired by the traditions of graphic design and its icons. Raimond maintains his work committed to Latin America at its core in essence. Raimond exhibited at the 27th São Paulo Biennial in 2006
Gilda Mantilla (b. Los Angeles, USA - 1967. Lives and works in Lima) A series of small format black and white images, propped up on a shelf in groups of three, remit the feminine as understood within the common collective imaginary. An intimate and biographical collection, Gilda uses references beyond her privacy in her work and incorporates historic and social iconic references drawn from recent Peruvian history. Gilda exhibited at the 27th São Paulo Biennial in 2006.
 

Tags: Raimond Chaves, Sandra Gamarra, Gilda Mantilla, José Carlos Martinat, Ishmael Randall-Weeks, Gabriel Acevedo Velarde, Ishmael Randall Weeks