THE QUOTIDIAN GESTURE AS A POLITICAL ACT: ARGOTE AT ALBARRÁN BOURDAIS
By Álvaro de Benito
Una lucha de paisajes (A Struggle of Landscapes) is Iván Argote’s (Bogotá, Colombia, 1983) second exhibition at Albarrán Bourdais, a presentation that introduces a new series of works revolving around a video recording of actions through which the artist explores the idea of repair as a political act. Within this dialogue, the exhibition examines space and identity, delving into the characteristics and inherent qualities of public space and the ways in which our relationship with everyday symbols is constructed.
The actions carried out outside the gallery and captured in the video underscore how a minimal gesture of restoration in the street can unearth multiple layers of meaning. Argote’s operation employs semiotics as a link between the concept and its outcome. Filling cracks in the pavement with pigmented cement and inscribing phrases such as “Dignity and Respect” or “A Struggle of Landscapes” materially transforms urban imperfections while simultaneously revealing statements of a poetic and political nature.
The apparent simplicity and minimal impact of these gestures conceal, in fact, a reconsideration of how heroic narratives are constructed. Here, grandiosity and detachment from lived experience are exchanged for the values embedded in the quotidian gesture. In the same vein, the remaining works in the exhibition turn the space into an environment for semiotic inquiry, but also into a site where the reconfiguration of the commons becomes a thread of resistance.
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Vistas de exposición "Una lucha de paisajes" Iván Argote, 2025, Madrid. Cortesía de Albarrán Bourdais
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Vistas de exposición "Una lucha de paisajes" Iván Argote, 2025, Madrid. Cortesía de Albarrán Bourdais
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Vistas de exposición "Una lucha de paisajes" Iván Argote, 2025, Madrid. Cortesía de Albarrán Bourdais
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Vistas de exposición "Una lucha de paisajes" Iván Argote, 2025, Madrid. Cortesía de Albarrán Bourdais
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Vistas de exposición "Una lucha de paisajes" Iván Argote, 2025, Madrid. Cortesía de Albarrán Bourdais
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Vistas de exposición "Una lucha de paisajes" Iván Argote, 2025, Madrid. Cortesía de Albarrán Bourdais
The Pájaros rocking chairs, inspired by Brazilian and Colombian artisanal traditions, invite visitors to engage through a tangible, bodily interaction, even as they impose a certain distance. The concrete pieces from the Concrete Bars series hang from the ceiling, prompting a reconsideration of the power and functioning of language, while the Skin series—composed of slabs resembling architectural remnants—contains recomposed textual fragments. The Breathings series brings together the botanical world and the written word, placing short phrases amid botanical illustrations.
Iván Argote. Una lucha de paisajes is on view until 10 January 2026 at Albarrán Bourdais, Barquillo 13, Madrid (Spain).
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