OSCAR MURILLO: THEM
Gagosian is pleased to present an exhibition by the artist Oscar Murillo. The project, titled THEM, unites elements of Murillo’s practice and complements The flooded garden (2024), his newly commissioned installation at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall.
July 25 – August 24, 2024
The word them is both quotidian and profound, at moments carrying antagonistic political and social overtones. It also resonates with the concepts underlying The flooded garden, which was inspired by the paintings that Claude Monet produced in his garden in Giverny, France, during his battle with cataracts. Murillo was drawn to the visual qualities of Monet’s paintings and intrigued by their origins in physical and emotional struggle
At Burlington Arcade, these works are incorporated into Mesmerizing Beauty (2021–), an installation in which cheap, utilitarian white plastic chairs serve as symbolic empty vessels that support the works on paper. Gagosian’s presentation also includes a unique painted edition of THEM (2015–24), Murillo’s unpublished artist’s book filled with abstract and symbolic markings that overlay and obscure photographs from his childhood.
Murillo’s interest in and experimentation with mark making has been fueled in large part by Frequencies, a participatory project that he began in 2013 which uses the school desk as a system with which to capture the collective consciousness of thousands of young people. This summer, Gagosian hosts the launch of a new monograph dedicated to the project
Edited by Alessandro Rabottini and published by Hatje Cantz, the Frequencies book contains essays by curators Mark Godfrey, Eleanor Nairne, and Gabi Ngcobo, and is presented at Burlington Arcade alongside a dedicated reading room based on suggestions from invitees, these contributors among them.
A selection of Murillo’s wearable sculptures, Arepas y Tamales (2022–), and associated printed shirts are also on view, as well as the video meet me! Mr. Superman (2013–15). Shot on a handheld camera, the work captures the preparations for a New Year’s Day parade in Murillo’s hometown of La Paila in Colombia’s Valle del Cauca region.
A conversation between Murillo and Rabottini will take place at 7:30pm on Thursday, July 25, to mark the launch of the Frequencies book and the opening of the Burlington Arcade exhibition.