Alejandra von Hartz Gallery is very pleased to present the solo exhibition, “Contracture” by Pablo Siquier. This is the artist second solo exhibition with the Gallery and will feature a mural and drawings on paper, part of a series of large scale charcoal drawings designed with a vector 3D program and realized by hand directly on the wall. The show runs from December 2, 2013 to February. An opening reception will take place on Monday, December 2nd, from 8 to 11pm.

Part of a generation of artists that emerged in Buenos Aires at the end of ‘80s, Pablo Siquier’s work resists historical context and interpretation. His abstract black and white canvases and drawings remain silent, even as they evoke the rhythms of the city and subtly reference architectural ornament. In his work, Siquier explores the tensions between perfect and imperfect media. After years of precise schematic drawings with rulers and compasses, he uses computer software to design his intricate compositions. Once they are designed, he creates them on paper or canvases with charcoal or paint; they are at once hand-made and machine-influenced. The hyper precise and exact designs are finally executed with a primitive and incorrect tool. Although, in appearance, ultra perfect, the works challenge our perception and reveal an inherent and disquieting tension, the total opposite of fluidity.

Born in Buenos Aires, Siquier studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes Prilidiano Pueyrredón. In 1997, he co-founded the artist collective “Grupo de la X”, which was connected to the famous Madí artist Enio Iommi. From 1989-1993, he began to restrict his palette, and he developed geometric zed shapes inspired by architectural motifs and ornaments. In 1993, he abandoned color and began a series of abstract paintings and drawings in black and white.

In 1995, he participated in the exhibitions “Mesótica” and “Transatlántica”, curated by Carlos Basualdo at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, San José de Costa Rica, and the Alejandro Otero Museum of Visual Arts, Caracas, respectively. Also participated in “Space of Time”, curated by Sandra Antelo Suarez and Alisa Tager at the Americas Society, New York, and in “Slow Paintings”, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Alemania (2009).

In his most recent work, Siquier leaves behind the canvas to work directly on the walls of galleries and museums; drawings and installations that operate with the illusion and real perception of space. Via computer generated drawings transferred onto gigantic printed surfaces, these installations appear to erase the borders between painting and the real world.

He has created murals at the Los Molinos Building at Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires. Other murals are at the Carlos Pellegrini Subway Station and Centro Cultural General San Martin, both in Buenos Aires City. He represented Argentina at the 3rd Cuenca Biennial, at the 1st and 2nd Porto Alegre Biennial, at the 9th Habana Biennial, and at the 26th São Paulo Biennial. Siquier had major solo exhibitions at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid. His work is included in many public and private collections, including the Museo Nacional de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires; Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Austin; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Rosario (MACRO); and the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA).

Pablo Siquier lives and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

All images photographed by Oriol Tarridas