Gonzalo Lebrija: “Measuring the Distance”

September 11th – November 1st, 2015 La Casa Encendida, Ronda de Valencia 2, 28012 Madrid, Spain /

September 10th – to November 5th, 2015 Travesía Cuatro, Calle San Mateo, 16, 28004, Madrid, Spain.

Adrastus Collection artist, Gonzalo Lebrija (Mexico, D.F.), exhibits his artwork in Spain for the first time, and in two venues at once: his most recent video Golden Hours is being shown at “Travesía 4” Gallery, and a ten-year retrospective being at “La Casa Encendida”.

Curated by Humberto Moro, “Measuring the Distance” is the first solo exhibition of the Mexican artist in a Spanish institution like “La Casa Encendida”. This exhibition is composed of thirty-three artworks in multiple media (drawing, video, photography, sculpture and installations). The relationship between the different techniques that are being used and the easiness of the artist in migrating from one medium to another, reveal the complexity of his work.

This compilation refers to the effort of humanity in measuring the space-time relation and its fragility. Moreover, it associates directly with the historical evolution of the artist, since this exhibition encompasses over a decade of creative production.

The best critiques have been granted to Lebrija’s video Golden Hours. Therein, the artist presents an empty boat navigating towards the horizon and riding the waves as a metaphor of his artistic career. The boat never arrives to the horizon, seeming to remain immobile in an imperceptible journey. Time, distance and space, which are also depicted in the artworks presented at “La Casa Encendida”, are equally resumed in this video. Where is the boat heading? We don’t know, it simply stays in transit. Ray Loringa, in a curatorial text of the exhibition recommends to the viewer: “you just have to be thankful and appreciate such a beautiful odyssey and be careful of –the threat?- that represents the mainland.”[1]

[1] González, Javier. “El Tiempo Consumiéndose Gonzalo Lebrija. – Arte10.com.” Arte10.com. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <http://www.arte10.com/noticias/index.php?id=465>.