alejandro corujeira
Marlborough Chelsea
alejandro corujeira The Accessible, Dressed in Salts November 19 - December 19
Marlborough Chelsea 545 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10001 tel: 212 463 8634 • fax: 212 463 9658 www.marlboroughchelsea.com
A Conversation with Alejandro Corujeira KEVIN POWER
“All things seem mention of themselves “And the names which stem from them branch out to other referents.
La casa elevada
[ 2007, watercolour on paper, on wood, 26,5 x 19,5 cm ]
“Hugely, spring exists again.” ( j o h n a s h b e r y )
KEVIN POWER:
What place is left for a poetic lyricism or a
constituting an interaction, as it were, between stasis and
spiritual exploration in the language of abstraction? Do you
movement. Does Pound’s remark interest you in any way as
feel in any way that abstraction as a pictoric language may
far as your painting is concerned?
well have momentarily exhausted many of its highly
A.C.:
I find Pound’s remark
privileged possibilities? Where do you see new openings in
very interesting. It’s an incisive insight and helps us to
this privileged 20th century discourse?
understand that there is no line in isolation, frozen in a
ALEJANDRO CORUJEIRA:
Your question
specific moment. Drawing is writing in just the way that
brings to mind a poem by Paul Celan, called The Guest:
Pound puts it. I am interested in anything related to writing
“Long before evening / he who traded regards with the dark
along the lines of his image. There is an emotional charge
sweeps in. / Long before day / he awakes / and kindles a
and a statement contained in drawing letters, even when the
dream before leaving, / a dream of resonant steps: / you hear
drawing is automatic and hurried, result of both the way in
him stride through the distance / and hurl your soul after it.”
which, whoever is writing, structures their drawing and
I feel that abstraction has been the guest in the house of the
what they want to express in it. So it seems to make more
20th century and kindled a dream of resonant steps. It is true
sense to read ideas, actions, or subjects in movement than to
that its arrival in the recent history of the West was closely
separate out the words in each sentence and then put them
linked to the development of an exclusively plastic language
back together in the hope of forming a narrative. How can
and its capacity to say was questioned. But little by little,
you describe the circle that vibrates and expands in the water,
within this first abstraction, spaces opened up for other
provoked by a tiny drop in its fall onto the surface?
interests. Now it has become so broad that it can embrace
A continuous circular line says it clearly. I think that this
approaches or procedures coming from other disciplines. I am
image of expansion, with a rhythm that is almost like
thinking of number, but also random processes and insistent,
breathing, is at the core of these latest paintings... a subtle
meticulous repetition, inviting that involuntary accident to
movement that seems never to stop... I have always taken
slip in. The images you see can provoke a stimulus to
special notice of the works of artists whose abstraction took
meditation. On beginning a painting, the relationship with its
them to the very boundary of writing. I am thinking of Mark
material implies attention prior to knowing the image,
Tobey, H. Michaux, the works from Brice Marden’s Cold
although we do not know if said image already existed in a
Mountain series, inspired by the calligraphy of a Chinese
deep deposit within our memory. I think that in abstraction,
poet, or C. Nancarrow’s piano pieces, with almost mechanical
there is space for the paths that have been opened by poetry,
writing. These readings, from different times and different
music, science, meditation, number, memory, dreams, or the
cultures, and the relationships between them, weave a
simple drive to find an unprecedented image.
narrative line through the history of art that is neither strictly nor naturally chronological. That was what Aby
K.P.:
In Pound’s book on Fenollosa, On the Chinese written
Warburg wanted to make explicit in his essays. Now come to
Character as a Medium for Poetry, he quotes this passage from
mind V. Celmin’s ever present night skies, entering into a
Fenollosa directly: “A true noun, an isolated thing, doesn’t
dialogue with the celestography that Strindberg had
exist in nature. Things are only terminal points, or rather
captured nearly a century before.
meeting points of action, actions seen at a stroke, I know you read poetry. Could you talk about some
snapshots. The same goes for a pure verb, an abstract
K.P.:
movement. The eye sees the noun and the verb as a unity:
of your interests and what it is that moves you? Image?
the things in movement, the movement within the things,
Language?
it’s in this way that the Chinese conception tends to
A.C.:
I vitally feel poetry’s place as a space in which
represent them.” Your work often proposes a closure of a
words have the possibility of not failing. I find an extreme
framed element whilst the rest around is the action of line,
attitude in poets, a way of delving into life, in the deep sense
3
of the word, a special way of being able to turn something
shudders of contact and fusion brought with them thoughts
unexpected into something absolutely necessary, an ability to
and emotions that went way beyond questions of representing
accept the destiny of the word. R. Juarroz stated that every
the world or depicting one of its symbolic orders. Palazuelo
life, if it is lived deeply, can lead to poetry. Perhaps I recognize
said that “once abstraction has been invented there is no going
an ultimate space in poetry, which I yearn to attain in
back.” The question then becomes how to proceed and, above
painting, where the poet is aware of everything that is
all, in what direction and with what intention. What roles can
happening and constantly brings it face to face with his own
abstraction effectively occupy?
inner life, reaching a space in which it is hard to perceive the
A.C.:
I imagine he was referring to
limits between inside and outside, where the ego is diluted
the way abstraction emerged on the scene as the pictoric
and gives way to “the other”. In poetry, I find a unique way of
language in the first half of the 20th century, in modern
reaching revelations that would be hard to get through any
Western society. And once its postulates have been accepted,
other languages. There are artists who brush upon similar
it is hard for contemporary art to do without them. In that
attitudes with their work. I am thinking of Richard Tuttle.
sense, abstraction opened up a world, installed a new planet
Poetry carries within itself that vitality that makes it possible
in our mental constellation and that was when we realized
to open up channels of understanding for those who come
that this planet had been there since the beginning of our
into contact with it. I am not interested in language for
system. That’s why I don’t feel that abstraction was a 20th-
language’s sake. I am interested in how a poet, using the
century invention. We can find abstract manifestations in
same vocabulary that we do, can arrive at such revelations.
different cultures and throughout the ages. This brings to my
How a poet comes upon those same words that we have
mind an exhibition showing anonymous drawings, 17th-
pronounced so many times, but never in that way, with that
century tantras from Rajasthan, India, alongside some
meaning. I believe words used this way become a gift, and the
drawings by Agnes Martin, where there was an amazing
reader has to be open to joining in the celebration. It is this
kinship. J. Albers’ drawing when he discovered the ground-
invitation that I find captivating.
plan of the pyramid constructions on Mount Alban in Mexico, or Torres Garcia’s research into pre-Columbine
K.P.:
Palazuelo, one of the most significant abstract painters
cultures, also speak to us of that need to communicate in the
in recent Spanish history, said that the “Line thinks”. What
abstract. I think abstraction allows us to enter into a dialogue
do you feeel about that?
with other moments, both past and future. The idea of
A.C.:
The line accompanies it even invites
reaching forms that allow the observer to come out of
whoever is making it to modify their thinking. There is a very
himself, to move towards “the other”, is not, I believe, a
direct relationship between line and vision. In the broadest
recent conquest. Perhaps now, though, there is a more
sense, one could say that the “line feels”. I can perceive that in
widespread awareness of how that works.
Agnes Martin’s works. I dedicate a small suite in this What is the role of abstraction today? Can we still react
exhibition to her, called A Garden for Agnes. I don’t know
K.P.:
exactly in what context Palazuelo made that statement about
with a sense of surprise before its affirmations?. Is your work
the line. I think that his rich world of thought tempted him
about ideas or is more a kind of stance to reality, a way of
to express himself at times with intriguing certainties.
living in the world? A.C.:
K.P.:
Abstraction was of course always present as a latent
Today, abstraction continues to pose
questions close to philosophy and thus goes on contributing
experience in the world before it was painted. Look carefully at
to our understanding of the world. It is still linked to
any small segment of a Renaissance canvas to sense how the
generative energies. For me, abstraction, at times, seems to be
artists knew what was happening when one zone linked itself
located between sleeping and waking, a privileged place to
to another or brushed itself up against another. These
inspire vision, our gaze towards “the other”. It penetrates into
4
[ 2009, acrylic, watercolour and graphite on canvas, on cardboard, 23,5 x 18,5cm each one ]
Suite: un jardín para Agnes
those almost inaccessible nooks in our consciousness. I feel
call the soul? Or do such beliefs and possibilities belong
that it is in the memory of our species. It moves slowly and
essentially to a humanist tradition that is itself now massively
speaks to us of the cellular codes for metamorphosis. In my
under question? It seems highly probable that these forms
work, I feel that there are forms that find their sleep and
today might come from the discoveries of science, from what
remain there until a later moment when they might again
we have never seen until recently, from what is being revealed
awake. The lack of certainty about them is at the basis of their
under the colour-microscope, through computer possibilities
formation and there is a certain bemusement in the face of a
that can endlessly alter the shape of the image, through the
new repertoire. After a while, I begin to understand how I
advances in neurology and biochemistry, or through such
have shifted from some things to other things, but at the
fields as chaos theory. In other words, what we might expect
beginning, my feeling is that of something new, a revelation,
as abstract images are parallels between the musings of the
and with it comes a certain sense of well-being, even
creative spirit and those of scientific investigation. Does the highly imaginative world of contemporary science have a place in your work and thinking? A.C.:
I believe that science, in the
broadest sense of the term, occupies a preferential place in awakening our consciousness. It stimulates our vision of the world in a vital way. I feel that scientific research into certain phenomena is very incisive and at times is spearheading the images that we are currently offering as our understanding of reality. I have no scientific background and I do not use systematic models, but I force my intuition in the hope of reaching new images. And that is where a big question arises. Where do images come from? When I look at Santiago Ramón psychological well-being. In a way, I find that I am activating a
y Cajal’s drawings of his observations through the microscope,
contemplative attitude within myself, an attitude of
I am amazed at his interpretation of what he was seeing and
meditation upon these new forms. I can perceive this best in
the relationship between his thought processes and what his
my latest work, where the centrality begins to be more
eyes actually perceived. I think that his thinking drove his way
marked, and that leads to a greater tranquility than in earlier
of looking; his eyes were led to these images by his way of
series. In this sense, I interpret my painting as a way of being
interpreting the world. In my case, with images I seem to find
in this world, a way of establishing mechanisms to
myself in a different place. It is the images that drive my
comprehend reality, rather than painting as a carrier of ideas.
thinking... Coming back to your question, it is stimulating to see how science has gradually arrived at concepts that were
K.P.:
Back early in the 20th century it could be argued
already enunciated in ancient Oriental traditions. This is what
that new and strange forms appeared because they were
most interests me about science; that it seems to arrive from
necessary to express a spiritual content, to capture what
elsewhere. Sincerely, I believe that abstraction continues to
Apollinaire called the “spirit of the times”. These new forms,
enable us to give expression to deep needs, whether they be
even if less strange, were still being discovered up until the
spiritual, or the need to enquire in order to understand reality,
70s. New forms may still be possible and in all probability
or even the ironic vision of a society where the sense of
they will be articulated by cultures other than our own, yet it
contemplation has largely been lost. I do not think that science
is also abundantly clear that new arrangements of forms
and the images that it offers us have displaced the postulates of
certainly are manifesting themselves. But do these forms
abstract art. Rather, it has joined forces. And in this sense, I
come from inner needs? Do they come from what we loosely
embrace its arrival in the world of images.
5
K.P.:
We have lived from the fifties onwards a wave of
watershed. There, abstraction was strengthened by the lack of
formalist criticism. I am thinking of Greenberg’s declared
a tradition of contemporary art with which the continent
and aggressive espousal of formal achievement that endlessly
could identify. (I speak of the continent as a whole, not just
boosted the work of Picasso, Kandinsky, Mondrian or
North America). This left them free to look back at the past
Matisse, and later the continuation of these efforts through
and begin to develop a family constellation without the
the work of the Abstract Expressionists, dismissing all legible
traumatic rupture entailed in European abstraction...
content in abstraction as superfluous. It is not my intention
America clearly provided the right physical and historic space
to criticize the work of this extraordinary critic but certainly
for this adventure to begin. That time was marked by the
to question what appears as a highly limited agenda. When
yearning for freedom that all artists shared, and answers began
Greenberg tells Olitski, with such immense rhetorical
to arrive for their questioning. These answers later became
confidence, to crop the canvas or to heighten a colour, and
formal options, a kind of new artistic alphabet that arose from
justifies his assertions solely on the grounds of experience, of
their endeavor to value things other than the image, things
a life devoted to viewing pictures, can we meekly accept his
having to do with the processes that could channel the issues
judgment? Harold Rosenberg, the other critic of the period,
being tackled. The new art modes that emerged continue to be
said that the turning point for Abstract Expressionism
valid and now draw on everything arriving from the frontiers
occurred when its artists abandoned the idea of art and
of art or even outside it... I must also mention the value I see in
“decided to paint ... just to PAINT. The gesture on the canvas
the way later artists revised this initial American abstraction; a
was a gesture of liberation, from value – political, aesthetic
language that was clearly affected at birth by the need to affirm
moral.” He insists that. “what was to go on the canvas was not
itself, and which subsequent generations had a more analytical
a picture but an event.” And none of us would dispute that
way of looking at. Here, another question arises: How is it that a
Pollock, de Kooning, and Kline produced these events! But
movement that emerged with an overwhelming vocation to
has this process of a discovery of a signature become little
break away, has given us a language that allows for this
more than a recipe for an endless sequel of known and
constant, ongoing adaptation?
assimilated events where little is at risk. A.C.:
It seems as if at a
K.P.:
Abstraction has been attached to world of the spirit, to
specific point in the 20th century, a series of conditions came
mystical beliefs. One of the key points of Palazuelo’s work is
together so that a wide-ranging group of artists could give a
the way in which he fuses mystical beliefs with mathematics,
common response to social concerns, and also to spiritual
with fractal theory, with the occult, with cross-cultural
questions. These concerns found in the language of art an
readings of the history of number. He studied the writings of
efficient channel of response. Here, I would like to discuss a
Bohme who sought to identify the forces and conflicts that lie
subject that I am working on now, which you might call “the
beneath all human existence, taking what he found of use
exile of the avant-garde movements”. When I think in terms
over to his own sense of systems and structures. We can all
of Western painting, I always find the origin of abstraction on
feel moved when Bohme writes: “The eternal centre and the
the European continent, during an inter-war period that was
Birth of Life [...] are everywhere. Trace a circle no larger than a
especially painful in the continent’s history. However, I feel
dot the whole birth of Eternal Nature is therein contained.”
that abstraction begins to develop and bear real fruit once in
Such assertions imply the search for the underlying life-
exile. I wonder about the strength of this avant-garde to move
form, the Ur-form, and of course, an implicit belief in the fact
and to find the right place for its development. In its origins
that such a form exists. Do you see your work as a quest not
and in its exile, abstraction showed itself to be a way for
only inside but also outside yourself?
development in spiritual terms but also I believe it turned out
A.C.:
What I receive from outside
to be a path linked to the history of melancholy. If we had to
feeds into my painting. I do not recognize this inner
map out its voyage, we could see its arrival in America as a
contemplation without “the other”. Everything that concerns
6
me emotionally or intellectually, that stimulates me, surprises
with his way of painting abstract paintings. However, it is
me, delights me or upsets me, seems to store itself deep in the
evident that in his Atlas (the extensive series of portraits) he
back of my eyes from where, at some later time, images are
wanted to come closer to Aby Warburg’s idea and in this way
driven forth. I am not certain how this deposit works. Indeed,
investigate the images, where they come from, their
I receive some subjects as if they were traveling through time,
morphological capacity, what they evoke. I think that for
as if they had been waiting for the moment to manifest
Richter, abstraction also became an image into which he
themselves in me, almost as if they were some kind of
could delve and he found a certain effectiveness in his way of
remembered knowledge that acts while I am working in the
executing his works. But I do not find that his works are
studio: a sky which suddenly clears and allows you to see what
really questioning abstraction. Rather, they take another step
has become vital in order to go on. But other times, the
forward towards the encounter of the images. Sometime after
images, or the variations on them, or the processes that they
those paintings, he returned to figuration, incorporating the way of painting that he had developed in his abstract work.
Suite: un jardín para Agnes
He even applied it to his photography. The interpolation of his subjects reaffirms me in the belief that his main concern is with the image that he carries to the limits of painting, and not with abstraction. Thus his concern about the idea of beauty. For me, beauty does not lie in the image that comes out, although this could be a vehicle for accessing it. There is an awakening to beauty in the moments when we manage to shift our gaze or our consciousness; and images can help us to do this. Our dealings with the idea of beauty are central to art, both for the artist and those who observe it. It is the process of meditation, of attention to a work that can carry us trigger, seem to obey to a conscious attempt to find a way into
to an encounter with beauty. Being attentive to its pulsations
this deposit and act within, like a kind of meditative aid.
is a crucial part of the process of making art.
Painting keeps me linked to the outside through its own physical states. Even if it is a drawing of one centimeter or the
K.P.:
thought of such a drawing, it is no longer my body. The first
are to come close to what they hold. To study a black painting
stroke is already a breeze out there in the world.
by Ad Reinhardt involves a process similar to Zen meditation
Contemporary works often make demands on us if we
– a deceptively simple affair that “consists only in watching Richter has shown us that abstraction is simply a code
everything that is happening, including your own thoughts
that can be practised automatically and whose results can be
and your breathing.” Granting one’s vision sufficient time to
gauged beforehand. Thus if the artist is seeking a semblance of
perceive the resonant hues and shades in a painting by
depth he might well be drawn to using it. Nevertheless, the
Reinhardt is equivalent to the assumption of a meditative
purely mechanical production of Richter’s abstractions
process. In other words, the work imposes its own measures
continues to nag at us and beg the question about the role of
of time and rapprochement. We need to become involved and
the abstract. Does it still have a place or is it simply a matter of
when we do the painting seems to yield its essence all at once,
endless, increasingly banal, regurgitations of an overworked
recalling the comment of an Indian musician: “All music is in
and much abused code? Yet despite the procedures Richter is
the understanding of one note.” Tour work is very much a
much concerned with the idea of beauty. What role does this
process of growth and variations on a theme. Do you think in
concept have for you?
terms of series? Do you return consciously to pictorial
K.P.:
A.C.:
Richter seems to question abstraction
problems that were left hanging in the air? Which works
7
seem to you to have been key as openings for some kind of
spirituality, in a serious sense, within abstract painting.
continuity?
Marden found himself moved by calligraphy and began this
A.C.:
When I work, I think of a structure of
series almost writing and paying special attention to the space
constellations. Perhaps I can put it like this: there are large
where he could develop these calligraphies. He emphatically
groups that develop over time, which on many occasions
sought the right measure for each painting and the coloring
coincide and develop in parallel at the same time. Sometimes
that they would have before he even began the writing. In
I return to subjects that I thought were behind me, although
these works, where the changes in register are obvious for all
I have not any a priori desire or special wish to deal with them.
to see, the space in the painting becomes the representation of
Rather, it is like re-meeting these images and a feeling that
that which flows. Perhaps with these comments, I show my
they still trigger new possibilities in me to continue with
respect for alchemy... In my case, the paths that shaped my
their development. I never establish a revision programme.
work for a period are less calligraphic. They are spatial
In the last few years, to give an example that is still fresh, I feel that the suite, A Garden for Agnes has opened a process that will continue over time. They are forms that I began to perceive and to work on in this way some three years ago. However, it is a subject that I have carried inside me for quite a bit longer, and I hadn’t managed to get it to manifest itself in the way I needed in order to carry out these works, that could thus open up a continuum of intentions. K.P.:
If we turn to the 80s we might think of the work of
Brice Marden whose well-known interest in alchemical and numerological systems leads to works that are patently occult in meaning and consequently raises substantial
structures to attract the eye and not allow it to rest anywhere.
questions about the continuing role of the spiritual as a
Although these works seemed not to have precise borders, the
viable factor in serious contemporary abstract painting. Does
movement always returned to centers scattered over different
number interest you – I am thinking here specifically of the
zones of the canvass. These paths have become thinner now
paths, very much Heideggerian holzwege that are
and scarcely cross over each other and they don’t overlap. They
characteristic of your work – and does that void that often
are contained within the surface of the canvass in a calmer
lies at the centre of these works carry specific connotations as
manner, opening up from one single centre, albeit an unstable
far as you are concerned?
one. Somehow the latest works breathe more freely, subtly
A.C.:
Marden’s relationship with Han Shan’s
calligraphies (Cold Mountain, an 18th-century Chinese poet)
expanding from this centre that appears to be empty, being deposited in it, a seed for vision.
shows an enormous communication spanning time and All of us who have followed the history of abstraction
cultures. I do not know how broad-ranging his interest in
K.P.:
numbers is, but he seems to have used this to construct these
know how Kandinsky discovered one route to its realization
works that are a testament to that dialogue. The possibility
through the dematerialization of a recognizable subject and,
that he found in his work to communicate with Cold
even prior to his decision to step into total abstraction, he had
Mountain’s poetry, to bring those texts into the present and
already studied the hidden construction of his paintings: the
provide them with continuity, speaks of his trust in the
trelliswork. It is worth recalling his three categories:
possibility of transformation. When the artist becomes a
impressions, improvisations and compositions. Impressions are just
witness to that transformation, he defines the role of
that, impressions of external nature expressed in painterly
8
form. Improvisations represent a higher type which consists of
landscape but rather as a microcosm that speaks to us of this
“expressions of events of an inner character, hence
entirety that we inhabit. This interest in interpreting
impressions of internal nature.” The highest class is that of
common themes attracts me due to all it means in terms of
the compositions which are “the expressions of feelings that
translation and intention; the multiplicity of perceptions
have been forming within me in a similar way (but over a very
that appear, based on the same forms. In this case, I have also
long period of time), which, after the first preliminary
looked at pieces of these forms under the microscope, not
sketches, I have slowly and almost pedantically examined and
with any scientific intention, but just to see the repetition of
worked out.” The implication here is an ascent from the world
their structures, the minuscule differences within these life
of sense impressions to the level of intellectual deliberation.
systems that obstinately persist in a family with a common
At the root of Kandinsky’s search is the desire for “a cosmos of
identity. Meanwhile, those initial drawings were still there,
spiritually active beings”, and in order to achieve this he seeks
waiting for our encounter. Often I think that one is not open to receiving at the time when a new theme makes its
Suite: un jardín para Agnes
appearance and one can only be aware of the announcement of its arrival. What is true is that these forms were growing, independent of my will, and each time I returned to them they showed a bit more of their possibilities. There is an underlying current of joy, of letting go, once a theme begins to become inevitable. When one reaches this point, doubts and denial about it disappear. This is when I feel that these forms are truly inside me and I am able to start working with them. In this way, the process becomes at times a “mental solo”. In these works, I live the deep sensation of communicating with these new forms, of being able to speak to create a dynamic space in which individual emotions
out beyond my intentions. They maintain a development
manifest themselves in softly expressed colour and form.
that could be similar to the states that Kandinsky describes.
Looking at the works in this show the smaller pieces seem to be variations on a theme using biomorphic or even leaf shapes
K.P.:
whilst the larger works exploit the play of line and line as the
full of subtle nuances, that seems to lie at the emotional
carrier of colour?
centre of your work. How do you see its role?
A.C.:
Let me close with a question on your use of colour, so
In these small-format works that I was
A.C.:
For me, color is
referring to before, the theme appeared a long time ago, and
not in the things. Rather it is the objects that are in the color.
not just through observing Nature. When a new theme
Color is not fixed in any place. It is permanently moving: it is
appears, I usually let it be in after the first drawings, as if it
stained light. In my work, there are concentrations of color
had not yet quite reached me. Later, and only if its presence
energy in the form of lines that move from one place to
persists, I begin to get interested in it more consciously. I
another in search of a body in which to deposit themselves.
begin by investigating it, comparing and contrasting it with
Color is alive as this energy shifts. It is autonomous, not yet
other representations from other historic moments and other
related to the other forms that intervene in the piece. The
cultures. It is clear that these biomorphic forms, these dream-
successive layers of almost transparent paint allow this light
like leaf shapes, led me to look into botany books, especially
to internalize and enter the weave of the canvas. I invite you
travelers’ logs of herbs they found, Japanese books with
to travel towards the centre of the painting. If you penetrate
representations of plants, ancient treatises on medicinal
it, you will find yourself enveloped in this light of color. And
herbs with illustrations... I see leaves, not so much as part of a
there will be silence.
• 9
1.
10
Aire de oriente
[ 2009, acrylic, colour pencil and graphite on canvas, 210 x 140 cm ]
2.
El comienzo
[ 2009, acrylic, colour pencil and graphite on canvas, 200 x 250 cm ]
13
3.
14
Ă lbum de los dĂas
[ 2009, acrylic, colour pencil and graphite on canvas, 130 x 120 cm ]
4.
HĂŠlices
[ 2009, acrylic, colour pencil and graphite on canvas, 130 x 120 cm ]
15
5.
16
MelodĂas inventadas
[ 2009, acrylic and graphite on canvas, 160 x 130 cm ]
6.
18
Constelaci贸n
[ 2008, acrylic and graphite on canvas, 160 x 130 cm ]
7.
20
Margarita
[ 2009, acrylic, colour pencil and graphite on canvas, 180 x 190 cm ]
8.
22
Murmullo de mundo
[ 2009, acrylic on canvas, 160 x 180 cm ]
9.
24
El centro de tu vida
[ 2009, acrylic and colour pencil on canvas, 100 x 130 cm ]
10.
26
El manto de la tarde
[ 2008, acrylic and graphite on canvas, 80 x 90 cm ]
11.
El ciclo de los vientos (dĂptico)
[ 2009, acrylic on canvas, 50 x 70 cm ]
27
List of works • The Accessible, Dressed in Salts 11.
Aire de oriente • Air of Orient p. 11 [ 2009, acrylic, colour pencil and graphite on canvas, 210 x 140 cm ]
12.
El comienzo • The Beginning p. 12-13 [ 2009, acrylic, colour pencil and graphite on canvas, 200 x 250 cm ]
13.
Álbum de los días • Album of the Days p. 14 [ 2009, acrylic, colour pencil and graphite on canvas, 130 x 120 cm ]
14.
Hélices • Helices p. 15 [ 2009, acrylic, colour pencil and graphite on canvas, 130 x 120 cm ]
15.
Melodías inventadas • Invented Melodies p. 17 [ 2009, acrylic and graphite on canvas, 160 x 130 cm ]
16.
Constelación • Constellation p. 19 [ 2008, acrylic and graphite on canvas, 160 x 130 cm ]
17.
Margarita • Margarita p. 21 [ 2009, acrylic, colour pencil and graphite on canvas, 180 x 190 cm ]
18.
Murmullo de mundo • World Murmur p. 23 [ 2009, acrylic on canvas, 160 x 180 cm ]
19.
El centro de tu vida • The Center of your Life p. 25 [ 2009, acrylic and colour pencil on canvas, 100 x 130 cm ]
10.
El manto de la tarde • The Evening Mantle p. 26 [ 2008, acrylic and graphite on canvas, 80 x 90 cm ]
11.
El ciclo de los vientos (díptico) • The Cycle of the Winds (Diptych) p. 27 [ 2009, acrylic on canvas, 50 x 70 cm ]
12.
La casa elevada • The Elevated House p. 2 [ 2007, watercolour on paper, on wood, 26,5 x 19,5 cm ]
13.
Suite: un jardín para Agnes • A Garden for Agnes. Suite pp. 5, 7 and 8-9 [ 2009, acrylic, watercolour and graphite on canvas, on cardboard, 23,5 x 18,5cm each one ]
alejandro corujeira 19 9 7
Born in Buenos Aires (Argentina) in 1961.
Sol Cuello, Galería May Moré, Madrid.
2 0 0 5
Arte Abstracto (hoy), Centro de España
Elite Fine Art, Coral Gables, Miami.
en Buenos Aires.
1986 BFAP, Pueyrredón, Buenos Aires. Lives
La Galería, Quito, Ecuador.
Arte en las planchas, Red Itiner, Comunidad
in Madrid (Spain) since 1991.
Estrella, Galería Van Riel, Buenos Aires.
The painter with his daughter Margarita, 2009
19 9 6
Escribir
Atravesado de estrellas, Sala de Arte
El Brocense, Cáceres.
Arco ’05, Madrid, Marlborough Gallery,
Contemporáneo de Caracas Sofía Imber,
New York.
19 9 5
Elite Fine Art, Coral Gables, Miami.
19 9 3
Galería Sebastiá Jané, Barcelona.
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá. 19 9 2
Galería Detursa, Madrid.
Galería Van Riel, Buenos Aires. 19 9 1
Elite Fine Art, Coral Gables, Miami.
Galería Juan Martín, México D. F. 2 0 0 9
The accesible, dressed in salts.
Marlborough Gallery, Chelsea, New York.
19 9 0
Elite Fine Art, Coral Gables, Miami.
Galería Van Riel, Buenos Aires. 19 8 9
2 0 0 4
Arte Latinoamericano de hoy, Sala de
Armas, Ciudadela, Pamplona. Labirinti e Memoria, Casa Falconieri, Oristano, Italia. Arco ’04, Marlborough Gallery, New York. 2 0 0 3
Argentinos de dos mundos, Aranjuez.
Art Espagnol Contemporain, Marlborough Monaco, Monte-Carlo. Arco ’03, Madrid, Marlborough Gallery, New York, and Galería Sur, Punta del Este, Uruguay.
Galería Juan Martín, México D. F.
Bienal de Pintura Ciudad de Zamora, Zamora.
19 8 8
Galería Van Riel, Buenos Aires.
III Trienal de Arte Gráfico, Palacio de
Marlborough, Madrid.
19 8 7
Galería Praxis, Buenos Aires.
Revillagigedo, Gijón.
Resplandor amarillo. Galería Miguel Marcos,
19 8 6
Galería Van Riel, Buenos Aires.
2 0 0 8
El fruto y lo leve (dibujos). Galería
Impresiones Argentinas, Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid.
El jardín del navegante, Museo de Arte Venezuela.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
de Madrid.
Barcelona. Los rastros de la llama. Sala de Puerta Real, Caja de Granada, Granada. 2 0 0 6
Lo que queda de la certeza y otros lugares,
Extranjeros. Los otros artistas españoles, Museo SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2 0 0 9
Hay Festival. Casa Molino Ängel
Galería Marlborough, Madrid.
Ganivet, Granada.
Lo que crece y nos invita, IVAM, Valencia.
ARCO 09. Madrid, Marlborough Gallery,
Galería La Nave, Valencia.
New York.
Lo que crece y nos invita, Caixanova, Vigo. 2 0 0 5
Obras sobre papel, Galería Marlborough,
Madrid. 2 0 0 3
Galería Arteconsult, Panamá.
Cuarto Premio de Pintura Todisa, Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, Córdoba.
2 0 0 8
En Plenitud. Galería Gemma
Llamazares, Gijón. Altazor. Ilustrando a Huidobro. Museo de América, Madrid.
de Arte Contemporáneo Esteban Vicente, Segovia. 2 0 0 2
Arco ’02, Galería May Moré, Madrid,
y Galería Sur, Punta del Este, Uruguay. 2 0 0 1
Grandes arquitecturas pequeñas, Galería
Dasto, Oviedo. Propios y extraños, Galería Marlborough, Madrid. 2 0 0 0
IX Bienal Nacional de Arte Ciudad de
Todo, el canto incluso, era mudanza, Galería
Propuesta. Galería Manuel Ojeda.
Oviedo, Oviedo.
Marlborough, Madrid.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canaria.
Arco ’00, Galería May Moré, Madrid.
Galería Mácula, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. 2 0 0 2
La tarea del paisaje, Espacio Uno, Museo
Espacios de Agitación. Galería Marlborough Barcelona.
19 9 9
Centro Cultural Recoleta, Buenos
Aires.
Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía,
ARCO 08. Madrid, Marlborough Gallery,
Galería Dialogue, París.
Madrid.
New York.
Fundación Nicomedes García Gómez,
ArteBA 08.Buenos Aires, Galería Van Riel.
Segovia.
2 0 0 1
Elite Fine Art, Coral Gables, Miami.
Galería La Caja Negra, Madrid. Galería La Nave, Valencia.
2 0 0 7
Vaivenes. Interferencias entre arquitectura
VII Bienal de Pintura Ciudad de Pamplona,
y pintura. Fundación COAM, Madrid.
Pamplona.
ArteBA, Galería Van Riel, Buenos Aires.
Es cuando duermo que veo claro. Galería
Arco ’99, Madrid, Galería Sur, Punta del
Habitar el rayo, Sala Robayera, Miengo,
Marlborough Barcelona.
Cantabria.
9 Verdades creativas. Torreón de Lozoya,
2 0 0 0
19 9 9
La máquina de las constelaciones, Galería
Van Riel, Buenos Aires. Cielo extremo, Galería May Moré, Madrid. 19 9 8
Galería Dialogue, París.
Este, Uruguay. 19 9 8
Arco ’98, Galería May Moré, Madrid.
Segovia, España.
FIA, Galería Luis Pérez, Caracas.
ARCO 07. Madrid, Marlborough Gallery,
Premio L’Oréal, Centro Cultural Conde
New York.
Duque, Madrid.
2 0 0 6
Blanton Museum of Art, Texas, Austin.
Galería Niko Gulland, Buenos Aires.
Galería Forum, Lima, Perú.
Arco ’06, Marlborough Gallery, New York,
Libros de Artistas, Palacio de Montemuzo,
Elite Fine Art, Coral Gables, Miami.
y Galería La Nave, Valencia.
Zaragoza.
AWARDS 19 9 7
La otra orilla, Casa de América, Madrid.
19 9 1
La escuela del sur, Archer Huntington
Arco ’97, Galería May Moré, Madrid.
Art Gallery, Austin, Texas, and Museo
Signos y símbolos, Museo de Arte Moderno,
Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía,
Buenos Aires.
Madrid.
2 0 0 4
Residencia en la Fundación Josef and
Anni Albers, Bethany, Connecticut. 2 0 0 2
I Premio XVI Bienal de Pintura
Ciudad de Zamora.
Academia Española en Roma.
Arte argentino, Patio Bullrich, Buenos Aires.
I Premio, IV Edición Premio de Pintura
Premio L’Oréal, Centro Cultural del Conde
Propuestas, Galería Detursa, Madrid.
Todisa, Córdoba.
Duque, Madrid.
19 9 0
Arte por artistas, Museo de Arte
Galería David Pérez-Mac Collum,
Moderno, Buenos Aires.
Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Latinart, Galería Anita Shapolsky, New
19 9 6
Líricos del fin de siglo, Salas
York.
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Esteban Vicente, Beca Yadoo, Saratoga Springs, New York. 19 9 8
Artista joven del año 97, Asociación
de Exposiciones del Ministerio de
VII Bienal Domecq, Museo de Arte Moderno,
Argentina de Críticos de Arte, Buenos
Cultura, Madrid.
México D. F.
Aires.
Arco ’96, Libros de Artistas, Galería May Moré,
19 8 9
Arco’89, Galería Van Riel, Buenos Aires.
Madrid.
III Bienal de La Habana, Centro Wifredo
I Salón de la Asociación de Críticos de Arte, Salas
Lam, La Habana.
Nacionales, Buenos Aires.
Utensillos, Galería Juan Martín, México D. F.
70, 80, 90, Centro Cultural J.L. Borges, Buenos Aires.
11 x 11, CAYC, Buenos Aires. 19 8 8
Corujeira, Salvatierra, Vidal Lozano,
19 9 7
Beca Academia Española en Roma,
Roma. 19 9 6
Diploma, I Salón de Pintura de la
Asociación Argentina de Críticos de Arte, Buenos Aires. 19 9 3
Adquisición, III Muestra Unión
Juegos de Artistas, Galería May Moré,
Museo Sívori, Buenos Aires.
Madrid.
Salón Municipal Manuel Belgrano,
19 9 1
Beca Ciudad de México, México D. F.
Salón de los 16, Círculo de Bellas Artes,
Buenos Aires.
19 8 8
I Premio Fundación Alejandro Shaw,
Madrid.
Retorno y presencia, Galería Ruth Benzacar,
19 9 5
ArtFrankfurt, Lisenberg Arte
Internacional, Frankfurt. Elite Fine Art, Coral Gables, Miami. V Bienal de Pintura Ciudad Pamplona,
Buenos Aires. Premio Alejandro Shaw, Fundación Fortabat,
Fenosa, La Coruña.
Buenos Aires. 19 8 5
Mención especial para artistas jóvenes,
Premio Esso de dibujo, Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires. 19 8 7
Art Expo New York, Galería Praxis,
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Pamplona.
New York.
Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection
I Trienal de Arte Gráfico, Palacio de
Centenario Deutsche Bank, Sede Central,
Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Texas.
Revillagigedo, Gijón.
Frankfurt.
Colección Unión Fenosa, La Coruña.
70, 80, 90, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes,
Salón Nacional de Pintura, Salas Nacionales,
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Panamá.
Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires.
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas
19 9 4
Elite Fine Art, Coral Gables, Miami.
Salón Municipal Manuel Belgrano, Museo
The Art and Culture Centre of Hollywood,
Sívori, Buenos Aires.
Florida.
Premio Gunther, CAYC, Buenos Aires.
19 9 3
La escuela del sur, Museo Rufino
Premio Saint Valery, Museo de Arte
Sofía Imber, MACCSI. Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno, IVAM, Valencia. Museo Nacional Centro de arte Reina Sofía,
Tamayo, México D. F.
Decorativo, Buenos Aires.
Galería Juan Martín, México D. F.
Exposición paralela Frankfurt-Buenos Aires,
Colección Banco de España, Madrid.
Elite Fine Art, Coral Gables, Miami.
Instituto Jung, Buenos Aires.
Museo Municipal de Madrid.
Galería Detursa, Madrid.
19 8 6
Premio Esso, Museo de Arte Castagnino,
III Muestra Unión Fenosa, La Coruña.
Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires.
Sueños geométricos, Arteleku, San
Premio Beca de dibujo, Museo de Arte
Sebastián.
Moderno, Buenos Aires.
Galería Elba Benítez, Madrid. 19 9 2
Una nueva imagen para América, Salas
Premio Federico Lanús, Fondo Nacional de las Artes, Buenos Aires.
Madrid.
Colección Fundación Coca Cola, Madrid. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de España, Madrid. Academia Española de Historia, Arqueología y Bellas Artes, Roma. Calcografía Nacional, Madrid.
Nacionales, Buenos Aires.
Pasado y presente en el arte latinoamericano,
Museo Postal y Telegráfico, Madrid.
El espíritu de Grecia, Salas Nacionales,
Museo de Bellas Artes, La Plata.
Ayuntamiento de Zamora.
Buenos Aires.
Premio Braque, Museo de Arte Moderno,
Colección Todisa.
Descubrir un mundo, Santiago de
Buenos Aires.
Compostela. La escuela del sur, Museo de Monterrey, México, and Museum of Modern Art of Latin America, Washington D. C.
I N T E R V I E W
Kevin Power
D E S I G N
Alfonso Meléndez
F O T O G R A P H E R
Francisco Fernández (Unidad Móvil)
P R I N T E D
B Y
Tf Artes Gráficas
T R A N S L A T I O N S O F A N S W E R B Y
A
Victoria Hughes
S P E C I A L
Lara Colorado Carol McEvoy
T H A N K S
.
C
.
Marlborough New York
London
Madrid
Marlborough Gallery Inc.
Marlborough Fine Art Ltd
Galería Marlborough, S. A.
40 West 57th Street New York, NY 10019 Telephone 212 541 4900 Fax 212 541 4948 mny@marlboroughgallery.com www.marlboroughgallery.com
6 Albemarle Street London, W1S 4BY Telephone 44 20 7629 5161 Fax 44 20 7629 6338 mfa@marlboroughfineart.com www.marlboroughfineart.com
Orfila, 5 28010 Madrid Telephone 34 91 319 14 14 Fax 34 91 308 43 45 info@galeriamarlborough.com www.galeriamarlborough.com
Marlborough Chelsea
Marlborough Graphics
AGENTS FOR
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Alfonso Albacete Juan José Aquerreta Martín Chirino Rafael Cidoncha Alberto Corazón Juan Correa Alejandro Corujeira Carlos Franco Manuel Franquelo Juan Genovés Luis Gordillo Abraham Lacalle Francisco Leiro Antonio López García Blanca Muñoz Juan Navarro Baldeweg Pelayo Ortega Daniel Quintero David Rodríguez Caballero Sergio Sanz Darío Villalba The Estate of Lucio Muñoz
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Magdalena Abakanowicz Michael Anderson Avigdor Arikha L.C. Armstrong Chakaia Booker Fernando Botero Claudio Bravo Grisha Bruskin Steven Charles Dale Chihuly Chu Teh-Chun Vincent Desiderio Thierry W Despont Jane Dickson Richard Estes Feng Shuo Red Grooms Israel Hershberg Bill Jacklin Kcho Julio Larraz Ricardo Maffei Michele Oka Doner Tom Otterness Beverly Pepper Arnaldo Pomodoro Bruce Robbins Will Ryman Tomás Sánchez Hans Silvester Hunt Slonem Clive Smith Kenneth Snelson Stephen Talasnik Manolo Valdés Viswanadhan Robert Weingarten Zao Wou-Ki The Estate of R.B. Kitaj The Estate of Jacques Lipchitz The Estate of George Rickey
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AGENTS FOR
Important Works available by: Impressionists and Post-Impressionists Twentieth-Century European Masters German Expressionist Post-War American Artists
Roberto Barni Davide Benati The Estate of Alberto Magnelli ©2009, Galería Marlborough Gallery, Inc.
isbn: 978-0-89797-385-4 depósito legal: m-41155-2009 printed in spain
2009
The Accessible, Dressed in Salts
ALEJANDRO CORUJEIRA
alejandro corujeira
Marlborough Chelsea 545 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10001 tel: 212 463 8634 • fax: 212 463 9658 www.marlboroughchelsea.com
Marlborough Chelsea
November 19 - December 19