I was very pleased to see that the Tate Modern had a very interesting exhibition of some of the works of the Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco, and I was not disappointed with the result.
Orozco is well-known for taking up existing objects and re-arrange them in such a manner that they become something new. A clear example is his sculpture “La DS” which is modified old Citroën DS cut in half and reassembled together. The result is an interesting single-seater that enhances the aerodynamic design of the original.
A signature piece is that entitled “Black Kites” which is a human skull inscribed with a chequerboard pattern. It is a truly striking piece, so much so that they are using its image to advertise the exhibition. Its theme goes extremely well with the “Obit Series” with which it is shown. In this series Orozco has taken obituary headlines from The New York Times because of being “provocative or intriguing or funny or banal”, and printed on large sheets of paper. And talking about paper, the impressive “Dial Tone” is worth seeing. The piece takes pages of a phone book and slices containing the telephone numbers are pasted side by side on a Japanese roll of pape; according to the artist “… this work is measuring a city”.
My favourite pieces were the “Samurai Tree Invariant Paintings” because of their geometrical arrangements and vivid colours. According to Orozco, these are not paintings, “they are diagrams” presenting the possibilities, decisions and responses involved in playing any game.
The exhibition opened up on January 19, 2011 and runs until April 25.
Related Articles
- Gabriel Orozco, Tate Modern, London (independent.co.uk)
- Gabriel Orozco, Tate Modern, review (telegraph.co.uk)
- Gabriel Orozco’s art in pictures (telegraph.co.uk)
- Orozco brings his unique perspective to Tate Modern (independent.co.uk)