Un Automne - Michel Pérez Pollo

7 - 24 September 2023

Address

Lempertz
Grote Herstraat 6
Rue du Grand Cerf
1000 Bruxelle

Exhibition of a new series of paintings atLempertz Brussels in collaboration with MAI 36 GALERIE Curated by Duviel Fernandez & Hélène Robbe 

Michel Pérez Pollo’s new series of paintings is inspired by autumn and uses the image of the tree as a narrative axis of the works. Based in Madrid for just over three years, the artist is captivated by the experience of the passing seasons. In Cuba, his country of origin, has only one season, almost like a lethargy.

The tree is a metaphor for decomposition, metamorphosis, and rebirth. Trunks, branches and imaginary fruits, these figures serve as both a synthesis and an extension of his poetics. The artist draws on his own imagination and places it in a wider dimension.

The interplay of dimensions presents a constant in Michel’s work.

As usual in his creative process, the painting begins with the construction of small-scale models made from modeling clay and formed into miniature models that the artist amplifies on large canvases.

The figures attached to these imaginary trees are reminiscent of motifs from Michel’s previous series. What were once forms with an overwhelming presence at the center of the canvas are now small fruits and leaves that complete the openness of the compositions.

In these autumn landscapes, the figures are set against colored backgrounds. The shadows, essential to the composition, give this color a way to develop and add an essential, harmonious sense of movement. These works symbolize the idea that painting is not there solely to represent an image, but that it exists by virtue of the recreation of painting itself. Here, his artwork achieves a purification that touches on the spiritual, like spaces to be inhabited. Worlds where we can imagine and contemplate.

Duviel Fernandez

Born in 1981 in Manzanillo, Cuba. Lives and works in Madrid, Spain. Michel Pérez Pollo graduated from the Escuela Profesional de Artes Plásticas de Holguín in 1999 and from the Instituto Superior de Arte de Cuba (ISA) in 2007.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2021 - Michel Pérez Pollo, Brownstone Foundation, Paris
2020 - PERFUME, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich
2018 - MARMOR, National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana
2017 - UQBAR, Mai 36 Galerie, Zürich
2016 - Seven days of Luck, Siegfried Contemporary, London
2014 - Recent Work, Mai 36 Galerie, Zürich
2011 - Jugando a comprender, Galerie Knörle & Bättig, Winterthur

Selected Group Exhibitions

2022 - Vidas Paralelas by Michel Pérez Pollo and Pascale Marthine Tayou, Galleria Continua La Habana, Havana, Cuba
2019 - ABUC – Eleven Cuban artists, Mai 36 Galerie, Zurich
2018 - Hispano-American Center of culture, Havana
2017 - Art x Cuba - Contemporary Perspectives since 1989, Forum Ludwig, Aachen
2016 - Todo Abierto, Friche La Belle de Mai, Marseille
2015 - Between, Galleria Continua, San Gimignano
2014 - Para quebrar los muros, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana
2013 - Painting of all excuses (with Raúl Cordero), Central

Selected Publications

2018 - Marmor
2015 - Michel Pérez Pollo, 2008-2014, Turner, Madrid

Selected Articles And Texts

2010 - Michel Pérez Pollo, Juegos sin juegos (Michel Pérez Pollo, Games without Games), article written by Santiago Olmo for the catalogue of the exhibition Cierra los ojos, abre la boca (Shut the Eyes, Open the Mouth) Pickin ́ Chicken [...para chuparse los dedos] (Pickin ́ Chicken...is Delicious), article written by José Aja for the catalogue of the exhibition Aburrido del chocolate (Fed up with Chocolate) Si te dicen que te quiero (Eso no lo dije yo) (If Someone Says I Love You(It Wasn ́t me), article written by Andrés Isaac Santana for the catalogue of the exhibition Cierra los ojos, abre la boca (Shut the Eyes, Open the Mouth)

2009 - El muñeco como estatua ciega (The doll as Blind Statue), article written by Rufo Caballero for the catalogue of the exhibition Las apariencias no engañan (Appearance Cannot Be Deceptive)

2008 - Article written by Darys Vázquez for the magazine The H, pp. 160-161 Article written by Darys Vázquez for the catalogue of the exhibition Llorando de la risa (To Die Laughing) Llévame a la estepa, quiero llorar bien lejos, by Piter Ortega for magazine El Caimán Barbudo

2007 - Cultural news about exhibition in Menos 1 Gallery, El País, Madrid, July 17

2006 - Michel Pérez, Aire Fresco en la nueva pintura cubana, by Niels Reyes for Mientras pasa la tarde, revista literaria de Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico

Contemporary Art at Lempertz

Since 2014, Lempertz has been exhibiting international contemporary artists, private collections collaborating with renowned galleries, among them: Anish KAPOOR - Galerie Barbara Gladstone, Joëlle TUERLINCKX, La Collection Cooreman, Sean SCULLY, Ellsworth KELLY, Michel FRANCOIS, Lionel ESTEVE, Heimo ZOBERNIG, Koen VAN DEN BROEK, Egan FRANTZ, Joseph ZEHRER(Galerie Nagel Draxler), Sven AUGUSTIJNEN (Galerie Jan Mot).

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at +32 2 514 05 86.

Contact

Hélène Robbe
robbe@lempertz.com