CELEBRATING LE PARC AT ALBARRÁN BOURDAIS
The Albarrán Bourdais gallery, at its Madrid venue, is hosting the exhibition En movimiento, by Julio Le Parc (Mendoza, Argentina, 1928). With a celebratory tone, as this is the first solo exhibition dedicated to the Argentine artist in Spain in 30 years, the exhibition explores a fundamental part of the work of this master of kinetic and op-art and does so with a selection of several pieces that illustrate key periods. Without being a retrospective, there is something of that essence in the way the tour is presented, which proposes, through connected groups, an analysis of the connection between the past and the present.
The visitor is welcomed by Sphère bleu foncé (2013), a sort of mobile sphere of more than two meters in diameter composed of blue pieces. Although created more recently, it takes us back to Le Parc’s experimentation with light and movement in the 1960s. This piece serves as an introduction, immersing the viewer in the environment—spacious rooms marked by canvases of eminent geometric character, yet hiding, once again, the master’s analysis.
Several series rooted in his early work are presented, though they were created more recently. They allow us to analyze this theoretical and practical progression within a framework that extends over time. Onde and Série 16, canvases worked with airbrush that reverberate on the principles of organization and its influence on expression, but, above all, on his practice of working within the limited—yet infinite—scale of fourteen colors, which he has explored for over half a century.
Alchimies, a series that originated in the artist's last period in Buenos Aires, participates in the same way. In their chronological progression, the works on display link the latest pieces with others from more distant periods. Here, we can observe the persistence of forms, perhaps of the essence itself, though the technique used makes it feel somewhat distant. The flows delimit the morphology of the area and the influence of the kinetic and the light and are superimposed on the visual, essentially similar, but with a different result.
Between these two sections, perhaps strategically arranged, a room gradually reduces color until reaching a scale of black and white. The pieces in this transitional space remind us how crucial the theoretical foundations of geometric optical art were. Touching on the practice of the studio, it highlights the primordial importance of these investigations on shadows and the disposition on the canvas, which are also included in the precious collection of sketches and studies displayed throughout the exhibition.
In this sense, the proposed end is represented by Relief couleur (1973), a wooden relief that stands between these investigations and the result of a work of great plasticity, reflecting the gallery’s intended message: a didactic recognition of Le Parc.
Julio Le Parc. En movimiento can be seen until April 26 at Albarrán Bourdais Gallery, Barquillo, 13, Madrid (Spain).
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