ektor garcia, «nudos de tiempo»

The artisanal object landscapes by ektor garcia (*1985) are frozen moments within an ongoing process. Using a variety of materials and techniques, the artist creates temporary structures that can be reworked at any time. Set in juxtaposition, the crocheted textiles, copper wire connections, ceramic forms, and metal castings function like free-form poems that constantly generate fresh resonances. For each exhibition, garcia produces new constellations that resist the urge to establish categories and hierarchies. They are punk and queer. The sensual installations break with narrative forms that are intended to convey a certain story without obliviousness to history. Through the materials and symbols, multi-layered content traces can be picked up on without imposing themselves.

The artist’s work involves intense physical labor. Countless loops, knots, and fingerprints are evidence of his daily work, in which chaos and logic, connection and detachment exist in parallel. garcia strives for the imperfect, the beauty of the handmade, unique with its flaws. Fragments of the installation in the vaulted cellar were produced partly in Mexico City, the artist’s current place of residence, as well as in Zurich, Berlin, Paris, and Venice. In these places, for the past few weeks, garcia has knotted, knitted, modeled, and crocheted daily to produce work for the exhibition nudos de tiempo. Because of his nomadic practice, his art is invariably exposed to new influences. These do not, however, become fixed. Contributing to this openness is the fact that the objects are detached from craft traditions due to the sometimes unusual combinations of materials and techniques. For example, garcia crochets with copper wire, forms resistant objects such as chains from fragile terracotta, or transfers soft materials into bronze using the lost wax process. During the casting process, the original is dipped in wax melts. In order to extract the work fragment, the plaster mold must be destroyed, meaning that the casting can be carried out only once; the result is a unique piece with uncontrollable, surprising formations.

The show at Cabaret Voltaire is ektor garcia’s first institutional solo exhibition in Switzerland. It is curated by Fabian Flückiger and Salome Hohl in close collaboration with the artist.