Dissecting Thoughts
Federico Carbajal
May 18 to June 18, 2017 | Opening May 18, 5 pm
From May 18 to June 18, Mexican-born artist Federico Carbajal presents “Dissecting Thoughts”, an exhibition of sculptures made from over 200 metres of interlaced steel and copper wire. Four distinct explorations make up this body of work: Disssecting Thoughts, Bipolar Asymetries, Wireheads and Portrait Shadows.
In his previous work, the human body was to be seen as blown up by 3D depictions of various organs. Halfway between a scientific item and a piece of jewelry, the works were ate once intriguing and seductive. True to the artist’s interest for human anatomy, his new investigations now attempt to depict feelings, thoughts or states of mind that can be expressed by the human face, as shown in the series Disssecting Thoughts. In this research, the artist revisits the classical genre of the bust and pays tribute to it by transposing it to the present era.
In Bipolar Asymetries, galvanized-steel two-dimensional portraits are contained within a circular, transparent structure. They express the universal conflict of the human dichotomy (good and bad, love and hatred, life and death, etc.).
The series Wireheads depicts for its part three-dimensional interconnected heads. Going beyond the figurative representation of the subject, the interaction between the heads materializes the abstract world of our minds.
Finally, the installation Portrait Shadows rounds out this body of work by merging sculpture, light and drawings. Amidst half-light, light beams project on the wall the shadows of two sculptural heads. The ephemeral drawings that result thus suggest a dialogue between two figures while creating a link between genres.
Biographical Note
Born in Mexico in 1978, Federico Carbajal earned a B.Arch. at the Universidad Iberoamericana León in 2003. From 2006 to 2008, he pursued his studies and completed a Master’s degree in architecture at Université de Montréal. In 2010, under the mentorship of artist Helga Schleeh, he followed the Independent Studies Program at the Visual Arts Centre of Montreal. His first experiment with sculpture took place in 2000 in New York, where he worked as an assistant to sculptor Holton Rower, grandson of the famous sculptor Alexander Calder. Federico Carbajal has been working with sculpture since 2002 alongside his trade as an architect. His works have been shown in Mexico, United-States and Canada. Federico Carbajal currently lives and works in Montreal and is represented by Dominique Bouffard Gallery.
Opening Hours: Wednesday to Friday - 10 am to 6 pm | Saturday & Sunday - Noon to 5 pm