Oscar Cueto
06 Feb - 05 Apr 2008
OSCAR CUETO
"teenager"
The main motif in the work of Oscar Cueto (Mexico, 1976) has been questioning the cult generated around contemporary art and its players. In previous works, the artist represents himself as an underprivileged figure in the context of the art world power struggles. He is a martyr of himself, of the creative process, of the curator, of the gallery owner, and mostly of the art critic. In Teenager this reflexive artist shows his latest pieces, in which he has developed a new way of dealing with the subject matter peculiar to his work.
Cueto is no longer a victim within the contemporary art world. He now proposes an artist that acts in a more immediate and innocent way, one that behaves as a perpetual teenager. He understands the artistic process as trial and error exercise, and his main sources of inspiration are fantasy, gut reactions, and the emotive. There are no pretensions. Instead, the artist uses imperfect materials, techniques and composition, which have vulnerable works as their outcome.
Minutely modified objects play with the ability of the artist - the teenager - to daydream and turn something into reality, but as a matter of fact the process becomes nothing but a series of Freudian slips.
This perpetual teenager knows no boundaries, moving between sensitivity and moderation he constantly exposes himself and looks for risk. Ironically, what could be more risky than being involved in the contemporary art world? These works are the result of moments of reflection and questioning, and in them Oscar Cueto is split in two once again, recognizing himself in whatever he criticizes through his pieces.
"teenager"
The main motif in the work of Oscar Cueto (Mexico, 1976) has been questioning the cult generated around contemporary art and its players. In previous works, the artist represents himself as an underprivileged figure in the context of the art world power struggles. He is a martyr of himself, of the creative process, of the curator, of the gallery owner, and mostly of the art critic. In Teenager this reflexive artist shows his latest pieces, in which he has developed a new way of dealing with the subject matter peculiar to his work.
Cueto is no longer a victim within the contemporary art world. He now proposes an artist that acts in a more immediate and innocent way, one that behaves as a perpetual teenager. He understands the artistic process as trial and error exercise, and his main sources of inspiration are fantasy, gut reactions, and the emotive. There are no pretensions. Instead, the artist uses imperfect materials, techniques and composition, which have vulnerable works as their outcome.
Minutely modified objects play with the ability of the artist - the teenager - to daydream and turn something into reality, but as a matter of fact the process becomes nothing but a series of Freudian slips.
This perpetual teenager knows no boundaries, moving between sensitivity and moderation he constantly exposes himself and looks for risk. Ironically, what could be more risky than being involved in the contemporary art world? These works are the result of moments of reflection and questioning, and in them Oscar Cueto is split in two once again, recognizing himself in whatever he criticizes through his pieces.