Enrique Rosas: Fire and Transformation

Exploring the symbolic power of fire through the lens of Enrique Rosas' artistic practice

Enrique Rosas playing the flute (2024) by Enrique Rosas and photographed by Paulina de la TorrePatronato Ruta de la Amistad A.C

Mexico, a solar culture

In pre-Hispanic times, the New Fire ceremony was celebrated every 52 years, marking the end of a cosmic cycle to ensure the world did not descend into darkness and bring hope of renewal.

At the end of his 52-year revolution, Enrique Rosas brings together works from his personal archeology in which the sacred fire is the common thread between the Olympic flame of MEXICO68, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the questions raised by a world in profound mutation .

Plus Ultra (2023, 2024) by Enrique Rosas and photographed by Alejandro CataláPatronato Ruta de la Amistad A.C

Blue Fire

In the series of cyanotypes, a dream call leads the artist to interpret the mural of the central library of the University of Mexico, made by Juan O'Gorman in 1952. Plus Ultra is the result of an impossible synchronicity across three generations.

Eclipsed Mitra (2023, 2024) by Enrique Rosas and photographed by Alejandro CataláPatronato Ruta de la Amistad A.C

The pieces are placed on the board:

Arte Lucis et Umbrae by Athanasius Kircher, and his dialogue with Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. The Eclipsed Mithras is a Persian sun god who wears the Phrygian cap, a symbol of freedom that was shared on Mexican and French coins.

Another Uterus (2023, 2024) by Enrique Rosas and photographed by Alejandro CataláPatronato Ruta de la Amistad A.C

The Tower of the Winds by Gonzalo Fonseca

A monumental habitable sculpture from the Ruta de la Amistad complex, it was a space explored by the artist since his youth. Enrique Rosas combines his learning of calligraphy, photography and exercises in the art of geometry to create his “cyanotype calligraphies”.

Multiple Eye (2023, 2024) by Enrique Rosas and photographed by Alejandro CataláPatronato Ruta de la Amistad A.C

Red Fire

A cathartic series, a revelation that consumes and tames fire. To do this, the red pigment of the cochineal (insect) from Mexico is used. “I was amazed to discover how this living material reacts to chemistry with unpredictable results.”

Flumo 1, Flumo 2, Flumo 3, Flumo 4 (2023, 2024) by Enrique Rosas and photographed by Alejandro CataláPatronato Ruta de la Amistad A.C

Black Fire

The drawings in this series are the result of an artist residency in China where the artist describes calligraphy as “a physical, hard and demanding martial art.” Here the inks come from the combustion of mineral and vegetable oils, embodying fire itself.

Sígilo I, Xigilos I, Xigilos II (2023, 2024) by Enrique Rosas and photographed by Paulina de la TorrePatronato Ruta de la Amistad A.C

The geometric lines in these works lead us to the design of MEXICO68. The grooves are shown in woodcuts (prints on paper with a wooden plate), which accompany the sculptures hand-carved by the artist from wooden trunks.

The artist's creative process (2024) by Enrique Rosas and photographed by Paulina de la TorrePatronato Ruta de la Amistad A.C

Behind the Room

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A temporary studio was presented during the exhibition where there were constant changes. In this place, Enrique bases his ideas on the objects he has brought from his distant studio, and where there was a constant exchange of ideas with the visitors.

Display case with objects and stereoscopic images (2024) by Enrique Rosas and photographed by Paulina de la TorrePatronato Ruta de la Amistad A.C

His experiences led him to study G.W. Leibniz, whose contribution of the binary system to modern science underpins all our cybernetic technologies. This led the artist to research holographic identities and stereoscopic images.

Llama Venurciana, Llama Solunar, Llama Jupiturna (2024) by Enrique Rosas and photographed by Paulina de la TorrePatronato Ruta de la Amistad A.C

Synthesis

The material used by his grandfather a century ago leads him to a structural transformation that results in a paradigm shift allowing him to give symbolism to the body, the black ink, the spirit and the red soul of the cochineal through his works.

Wheel of New Fire (2023, 2024) by Enrique Rosas and photographed by Alejandro CataláPatronato Ruta de la Amistad A.C

It takes us to the other side of the Fire, crossing over the embers without consuming us.

Credits: Story

Project creation: Luis Javier de la Torre
Curatorship: Emanuela Inés Dunand in collaboration with Ingrid Arriaga and Mónica Bellido
Virtual exhibition design: Irene Inchaurrandieta
Photographs: Paulina de la Torre, Cultural Institute of Mexico in France and the Lelaboratoire Gallery

Exhibition: Institut Culturel Du Mexique, 119 rue Vieille du Temple, 75003 Paris FR,
July 19 to August 9, 2024.

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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