HUGO GALERIE is pleased to present L’Instant , a solo exhibition featuring the harbors and industrial spaces of Xavier Rodés . The artist takes these traditionally boisterous environments and captures them in idle moments, causing their peace to be all the more palpable and powerful.

These pristine scenes of respite are not without life, however. They are alive with light—caught at the moment, the instant , when the sun is angled just right and the shadows are cast just so. Brilliant reflections dance across the water, ripples radiate in a spectrum of color, and dented cars appear to glow. Even somber shadows seem to glide across the canvas along the sun’s path. Rodés’ ability to inspire tranquility and bring to bear the beauty of an industrial space at rest is masterful.

The artist’s talent shines brightest in the juxtapositions he presents: a work site devoid of humans, a bustling industry in repose, a devotional calm palpitating with life, a still painting full of activity. A moment is scientifically only 2 1⁄4 seconds long, but in Rodés’ hands it can last a lifetime. Because for Rodés , the moments he captures are not units of time but of place; each instant is the culmination of when everything—the industry, the vehicles, the sun and its shadows, the perpetually ticking clock, and especially the viewer—has found serenity in the perfect place.