Emilio Chapela: Cavalo de Pau

For his first solo show at Galeria Pilar, Mexican artist Emilio Chapela (b. 1978, Mexico City) presents a selection of works that reflect about the issues of instability, fragmentation and discontinuity that have been a constant in Latin America throughout its history. By an investigation of sculptural nature, Chapela makes reference to the instable political systems and bankrupted economies of a geographically complex, oil dependent continent worn out by corruption. The artist uses brooms, toy horses and other banal materials to create maps of some of the most irregular and conflicted frontiers of America. With oil drums, he constructs sculptures that are precariously accommodated within the gallery space. The show is completed by a series of objects that tangent themes related to Brazil’s and the world’s geography.

If political and economic issues are in the center of the artist’s works, in the aesthetical field, he’s deeply influenced by abstractionism and artists like Carl Andre, Ellsworth Kelly and Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Emilio Chapela holds undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Fine Arts. He was awarded grants for artistic production by institutions such as FONCA CONACULTA and Fundación Jumex (both in Mexico). His works can be found in the collections of the Museum of fine Arts Houston (MFAH, USA), Colección Jumex (Mexico), Sayago & Pardon (Los Angeles, USA), FEMSA (Mexico), and others.