Oscar Murillo: if i was to draw a line, this journey started approximately 400km north of the equator
South London Gallery, London
20 September - 1 December 2013
For his first major solo exhibition in the UK, London-based artist OSCAR MURILLO empties his studio to present its contents in the main gallery space. Stitched canvases, drawings, sculptures and films, tables constructed from copper sheets, used as flooring in previous shows, and floor pieces made from masses of pulped biro drawings continue Murillo's practice of translating various aspects of studio endeavour into matter and then into form.
Oscar Murillo’s practice encompasses painting, sculpture, installation, video and performance. Harvesting the accumulative material conditions of his studio on canvases, fabrics and paper, and mobilising the physical remnants of distinct social situations, he exposes some of the contradictions and complexities apparent across socioeconomic, racial and cultural boundaries. Gestural marks that index artistic labour are layered with dirt, dust and debris, used as materials in their own right, but equally as evidence of the often-invisible tasks and efforts of others which underpin the social and physical fabric of different locales and circumstances.
An active component at the heart of the exhibition is a lottery that references the popularity of this phenomenon in many cultures. Oscar Murillo instigates a situation that highlights some of the intricacies of social and cultural encounters, as he has done in previous exhibitions and events, but this lottery project takes this area of his practice into new territory, raising numerous questions about authenticity, value, and the complex relationship between the public, private and commercial sectors of the art world.
The lottery project begins on Monday 2 September when individually screen-printed lottery tickets, each bearing a different number, will be available to purchase. As tickets are sold, each of them, and their corresponding artist’s proof, are inscribed with the purchaser’s name by a calligrapher before being displayed in the SLG’s first floor galleries throughout the exhibition period. A first, second and third prize, each devised by Oscar Murillo, will be revealed at the prize draw on Friday 18 October, during the week of Frieze Art Fair in London.
OSCAR MURILLO (b. 1986, Colombia) lives and works in London. He completed a BA in Fine Art at the University of Westminster, London, followed by MA in Painting in 2012 at the Royal College of Art, London. Recent solo exhibitions and projects include those at Isabella Bortolozzi, Berlin; Art Basel; Carlos/Ishikawa, London; MAMA Showroom, Rotterdam; Rubell Family Collection, Miami; Serpentine Gallery, London; Museo de Arte Moderno de Medellín, Colombia. Upcoming solo exhibitions include Studio Museum Harlem, New York and The Mistake Room, Los Angeles.
The exhibition is supported by Vicky Hughes and John Smith, and Raimund Berthold at Berthold and Paul Ettlinger. With thanks to Carlos/Ishikawa, London, Isabella Bortolozzi Galerie, Berlin, and David Zwirner Gallery, New York.
South London Gallery (SLG)
65-67 Peckham Road
London SE5 8UH
