Burning of the Object

Burning of the Object (Quema del Objeto), belonging to the series of the same name, was developed from 1957 to 1959. The artist proposed it again in the mid 1970s. Through it he presents an interpretation of space, both at the conceptual level and in its translation into visual art, investigating the significance of the resulting emptiness after vacating a space. He gives this reflection a metaphysical dimension which speaks of "the presence of absence." One of the formulas used for this concept was the creation of a sculpture which housed a wooden or cardboard heart in its interior, which disappeared after burning the sculpture as part of a happening. In the case of Burning of the Object in particular, the piece can be opened through its upper part which allows an object to be introduced for burning—something that could be interpreted as a type of 'seriation' in the process of burning these sculptures, likely with the intention of performing the burning ritual in retrospective exhibitions celebrated since the mid 1970s.