Twenty-Twenty Vision

D a v i d M a g á n

Madrid 1 2 . 0 9 . 2 3 – 1 8 . 1 1 . 2 3

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@parraromero i n f o @ p a r r a - r o m e r o . c o m

P a r r a & R o m e r o © 2 0 2 6 A L L R I G H T S R E S E R V E D

Parra & Romero is pleased to present David Magán’s (Madrid, 1979) fist solo exhibition entitled “twenty-twenty vision” as part of the Apertura Madrid Gallery Weekend 2023.

Twenty-twenty Vision is the title of my first solo show with Parra y Romero in their space in Madrid. We have been lucky, thanks to the generosity and trust placed by the Gallery in our project, to be able to curate it entirety from the studio. I present 3 new series that culminate a variety of investigations around the materialization of light that I have been investigating for years.

The expression that gives the exhibition its title comes from a term used in the Anglo-Saxon world that is used to define the standard vision capacity of people. With this idea I intend to reflect on the need to observe the world in a different, slower way. We live in a world full of stimulus where immediacy, excess of information and exacerbated consumerism invade us. This maelstrom doesn’t allow us to blend in with our natural environment, leading us to stress and unlimited dissatisfaction. This exhibition aims to be a kind of oasis that allows us to immerse ourselves in a space of calm and introspection where the barriers of time and space are affected and form that permeability we can lose ourselves in the physicality of light.

The first new series on display is entitled Ethereal Paintings and, although at first glance they seems like digital screens, they are in fact artifacts of light trapped in a sculpture contained within volume. I try to alluding to the use of those screens that characterizes our contemporain society and it’s responsible for that urgency and FOMO I refered. These sculptures aim to make the observer reflect on the value of the static, the imperishable and what is worth to observate with care. They are ethereal and intangible pieces. I play with color as part of the materiality of these forms, generating gradients and shadows that build the three-dimensionality of the object based on a volume that is difficult to decipher. In terms of its depth, it generates a kind of non-existent void that plays with the limits of perception.

On the other hand, Ethereal Traces is a series of experimental digital photography where I play with the imprint left by the trace of an object captured through the pools of light that bounce back towards it. I am fascinated by the idea of capturing the ethereal, ephemeral and intangible of the passage of time through the interaction of light on the natural physical phenomena that cohabit with us. Footprints frozen in time and printed with cutting-edge photographic techniques on Japanese paper made of natural cotton fibers and adapted to a rigid support that come from in-depth research on light projection experiments based on real physical phenomena carried out through digital media. 3D animation.

Last series is entitled Halo Series. Halos, like rainbows or pareidolias, are light phenomena, optical effects that we can witness on rare occasions. I have always been fascinated by the observation and understanding of the universe, often this observation raises more questions than answers and makes us feel increasingly smaller and insignificant. It generates in us that feeling of abyss that makes us consider the limits and purposes of our existence. These observations also transmit us a kind of inner peace difficult to explain. With this series, I intend to create sculptures that approach to that peace, mystery and incomprehension through the use of pigment as a catalyst of the form itself. Intangible form that changes in space and is generated around the object. Look for complex transformations, difficult for the viewer to predict. They play with investigations close to the use of time and space as an extension of a new dimension within the three already existing in any three-dimensional object.

if there is something in common within all these new series that I present, That is light. But not like in my previous investigations where light was part of a geometrical construction for an specific space. Light is now presented as a natural phenomenon and the focus is it’s materialization. This opens a series of totally new investigations that expand and open my artistic experimentation.

The term “twenty-twenty vision” references a person’s visual acuity. In this context, Magán places direct emphasis on the act of observation, honing one’s gaze to perceive beyond the surface. The ethereal and mutable nature of the artworks beckons visitors to become active observers, prompting them to question their own perspective and the presented reality.

This extraordinary exhibition epitomizes Magán’s enduring exploration of the interplay between light and its expression through diverse mediums. The showcase comprises three distinctive series: Ethereal Paintings, Ethereal Traces, and the Halo Series. Through a harmonious amalgamation of light, photography, and sculpture, Magán delves into the portrayal of light through pigments and the embodiment of painting via luminance—a dynamic that defines his artistic philosophy.

Initially influenced by modernism, Magán’s early work was rooted in stained glass traditions, later evolving to liberate glass from its substrate and concentrate on the interaction of translucent colored planes in spatial dimensions. This fascination with integrating these forms into architecture led to his iconic suspended plate installations, marking a trajectory of minimalist exploration Employing industrial production techniques granted him greater flexibility and precision in developing such projects.

In recent years, his fascination with manipulating and modulating light projected through colored acrylics has led to a body of work that has come to characterize some of his most emblematic series.

-David Magán, Septiembre de 2023