joseph scissorhands: Oscar Murillo: Manifestation

Friday 12 July 2019

Oscar Murillo: Manifestation

manifestation, 2018-19

Having seen Oscar Murillo's violent amnesia exhibition at Kettle's Yard (here), I was eager to see more of these large, physical works, so made my way to David Zwirner to catch more at Oscar Murillo: Manifestation. Like those at Kettle's Yard I loved the energy and drama in these works. Like the work of Basquiat, there appears to be a sense of disquiet and possibly anger present in Murillo's work. The mark-making is still gestural, free, and frenetic, and the imagery is still heavily dense and layered, but these manifestation works also contain slabs of horizontal lines, giving a semblance of deliberation and order to the loose mark making. I also like the way in which the way some of the canvases have been reconstituted by being cut up and then stitched together again like collage to create something exciting. I see so much potential for development in these works. As befits a multi-disciplinary artist the installations - Chocolate master after Hans Haacke, 2019, and that installation of damaged pews at Kettle's Yard hint at possible future collaborations, perhaps in the disciplines of stage or ballet, as they contain a heightened sense of drama, theatricality and narrative.