Farabeuf or the chronicle of an instant...
The name of the exhibition was inspired by the title of the novel Farabeuf o la crónica de un instante —Farabeuf or the chronicle of an instant— written in 1965 by Salvador Elizondo. The curatorial proposal takes certain elements, atmospheres and symbols from the narration, although it is mainly based on the idea that defines the memories as mental processes that, when they are sparked by a particular emotion, become codified and stored in more or less deep layers of the brain. The exhibition hall has been arranged around two poles: one bright and one dark, as the way like the day and night are represented on the Ouija board —also mentioned by Elizondo—, or like the Yin and Yang, the opposing forces or pairs of opposites. Thus, visitors will be able to move among contrasting flashbacks expressed by different artists on paper, cloth, wood and metal to evoke those memories that become embedded in thought: dreams and nightmares; hallucinations and yearnings; diseases and phobias; times of joy and bitterness; routine moments of tedium and episodes of childish ingenuity. All this to rescue or send back into oblivion an instant…
Hypermnesia (2010) by Santino EscatelMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
The title obeys the term that describes certain phenomena of memory recall. Memory recollection is a subject matter that this author stresses in his ensemble of works.
Untitled (2014) by Alessandra ParrachiniMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
In this untitled piece, the artist, the artist seeks to reproduce faithfully, she uses a minute drawing to faithfully reproduce the look of a millennial tree trunk uprooted from the earth...
with lines that appear saturated in the shaded sections and less dense in the lighter areas.
Instant (2006/2007) by Francisco MoralesMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
This piece belongs to the series Mantos eólicos (Eolian Mantles) is worked on sealed and polished wood to which numerous coats of acrylic and graphite paint are applied, but without losing the original texture of the wood.
Greece B (2010) by Cornelio GarcíaMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
The title Grecia (Greece) is evocative of the Hellenistic world and of his taste for balancing the body’s shape and beauty.
Greece A (2010) by Cornelio GarcíaMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
Both pieces refer to subject matters related to the female anatomy and to the mythical characters of beautiful Greek goddesses.
Return from India 2 (1992) by Judith GutiérrezMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
Immersed in the symbolic universe of dreams and in a reality that mingles with legends, the author revealed her inclination towards India’s cosmogony on canvas in Regreso de India (Return from India), in a composition where the characters perform rituals in an eden that maintains the sensual echo of her own equatorial paradises.
Mammal (1993) by Gil GareaMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
The large-scale canvas Mamífero (Mammal) offers a style open to the observer’s interpretation. However, the artist identifies it through the title, which speaks of the indelible stamp of childhood memory, built with recollections of a peasant influence familiarized with zoology, which materializes through a spontaneous painting, with loose spots and brushstrokes, the collage with pieces of animal skin, where emotion flows freely on the canvas.
The Queen (1989) by Lucía MayaMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
In the piece entitled La reina (The Queen), appears an elegantly dressed woman with long gloves, following the fashion trends of the 1950s. The messy hair does not correspond to the outfit.
Her face reveals surprise and fear, as a little boy pulls her dress demanding attention.
The Sphere Magician (1993) by Alejandro ColungaMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
The El mago de las esferas (The Sphere Magician) shows a character in a tunic decorated with a skull and an enormous headdress, while spheres sprout from his hands towards the rest of the surface. Its large scale and strange outfit reflect his power.
In his hands, he carries the power to create, and in his chest, the destructive power of death.
Children Playing (1994) by Roberto RéboraMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
In Niños jugando (Children Playing), the artist pierces the intimacy of a half-empty room, to catch a playful instant by surprise, by turning back the veil of the enclosed universe where erotic mischief happens, and brings to light the taboo subject of early sexuality to show it with simplicity and limited elements.
Tower of Babel (1983/1985) by Lucía MayaMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
Torre de Babel (Tower of Babel), a pencil drawing, leads through satire, to a world of inconsistencies and lack of communication.
First Round (2005) by Manuel SandovalMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
The color of the shirt worn by the individual on the left side is a symbolic allusion to blood, an element that was present in his early works and which he later replaced, using it in some detail to soften the content’s drama. The painter substitutes this representation by applying red to objects that he would have painted with blood in his dark and violent stages. The piece belongs to the series Memorias en rojo (Memories in Red), based on the biographic construction of a character that from birth to death wore a piece of clothing that identified him by its color.
Girls on Vacation (1988) by Benito ZamoraMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
Muchachas de vacaciones (Girls on Vacation) is the festive title that the author gave to the depiction of two female characters whose bodies bear testament to having enjoyed the food and drinks.
Echo (1980) by Jorge MartínezMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
In Eco (Echo), the Renaissance perspective and the careful fading of color offer a disturbing realism that incites the viewer to delve into an imaginary, tidy and empty space, which gives rise to a visual play between the inner and outer worlds.
The Nest (1982) by Jorge MartínezMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
The piece entitled El nido (The Nest) brings together different elements that in their inconsistency open the door to imagination towards new realities.
Through a play of planes, he gives shape to an architectural ensemble of perspective and harsh shadows, while introducing a strange element, as is the bird nest with a specimen from the sea inside, endowing the work, which evokes the school of metaphysics due to its characteristics, with erotic symbolism.
Winter, in tribute to Sebastián Márquez (2004) by Roberto MárquezMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
The piece El invierno, en homenaje a Sebastián Márquez (Winter, in tribute to Sebastián Márquez) shows a young man carrying a naked child on his shoulders. A landscape of agave plants serves as background and provides a geographic reference that brings to mind an area of Jalisco’s tequila production.
The rope that looks like a snake is interposed as a foreign element among the open books in an enigmatic environment woven by the recurring desire to shorten the distance between the past and present through painting.
Untitled (2002) by Estela HussongMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
This untitled piece, focuses on the theme of the dessert environment and highlights a group of inorganic elements eroded by time. The meticulous drawing of rocks stands out against an ochre and gray background that emphasizes the idea of an arid environment.
The Mexican’s Outcrop (1969/1979) by Tomás CoffeenMUSA Museo de las Artes de la Universidad de Guadalajara
The painting presents a range of tones and shades typical of the series Rogowo, which he developed in the 1970s, dedicated to the landscape of the Oblatos gully, where the violent contrasts seen in other periods soften towards complementary and harmonic color combinations.
In it, he does without perspective and volume, depicting the idea of light and shadow through planned areas segmented by the violets and yellows that he used to paint most of the gully’s precipitous mountains, inspired by the landscapes of his ancestors’ small Polish town that shares the name of the series.
Curator: Laura Ayala
Work: 39 pieces ―collage, drawing, sculpture, print, photography, painting and mixed media―.
Artists: Alberto Gironella, Alejandro Colunga, Alejandro Nava, Alessandra Parachini, Antonio Ramírez, Benito Zamora, Carmen Bordes Pacheco, Cornelio García, Davis Birks, Ernesto Flores, Estela Hussong, Francisco Morales, Gil Garea, Javier Campos Cabello, Jorge Martínez, José Fors, Judith Gutiérrez, León Chávez Teixeiro, Lucía Maya, Manuel Sandoval, Martha Pacheco, Penélope Downes, Roberto Márquez, Roberto Rébora, Santino Escatel, Tomás Coffeen, Ulises González.
Editor online: Melina Torres
Translation: Sayra Rimada