Jose Dávila
Mexico, 1974
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Trained as an architect, José Dávila works in the field of formal sculpture and large-format installation, as well as creating site-specific interventions for particular buildings and places. Notable features of his work are his exploration of spatial interferences, the transformation of urbanism into sculpture, mimesis and the significance of materials (in many cases building materials).
Dávila is also interested in the history of art. The seductive influence of certain major artists of the past provides inspiration for many of his pieces. Rather than concerning himself with particular historical moments, in his pursuit of the ideal sculptural piece he focuses on the work of the artists he studies, approaching this process with a degree of criticism and parody.
Poetry, mathematics and above all architecture and urbanism lead him to play with the almost infinite possibilities of geometrical orders, while arithmetic and chance are important elements in the sculptural order of his works.
The work Bicho gigante I, which takes as its starting point the modular experiments of Lygia Clark, takes on a certain architectural character, evoking the constructive line of the modern sculpture tradition, which in the case of Clark includes the possibility of constant modification of volumes within the exhibition space.
Virginia Torrente