Mateo Lopez

Almohada (Pillow)

2011

Mateo Lopez, Almohada (Pillow), 2011.

Mateo López uses paper as a medium to conjure personal experiences. The artist creates drawings and trompe l’oeil objects, ranging from apples to clothing hangers to doors. These props are part of a performance; he often sets up his studio in public and uses cues from his own journeys as the inspiration for his work. The objects are not dull but sensuous, creating their own life in a Proustian narrative; slices of apple, for instance, have texture summoning the juiciness of a crisp bite. Lopez carefully creates these phantom objects and imbues them with the colors of memory. Almohada means “pillow” in Spanish, and this 2011 sculpture is a literal and playful interpretation. The large pillow made of sheets of paper leans vertically against a wall, and papers printed with images of feathers spill over the top and cascade onto the floor.

Though he often works with paper and traditional techniques such as lithography, Mateo López is interested in expanding the scope of drawing and frequently operates outside of traditional studio situations to conjure personal experiences. His early studies in architecture equipped him to consider his medium in terms of time and space, and in three rather than two dimensions. The portability of López’s methods, along with his approach to collecting information from his personal journeys, has become a trademark of his installations. Drawings and trompe l’oeil objects, ranging from apples to clothing hangers to doors, extend beyond their sources of inspiration as sensuous entities, creating their own life in a Proustian narrative.

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Mateo Lopez Almohada (Pillow)

Mateo Lopez

Almohada (Pillow)