Enigmatic Spanish artist PEJAC has just cut the ribbon on his his debut solo exhibition in the U.S., titled 6 FEET UNDER. The showcase, which takes over three floors inside a warehouse-like venue located at 18 East 50th Street in New York City, explores the “destruction, dystopia and renaissance of our planet due to global warming, rising seas, and the changing of the earth due to human intervention” through three acts and 19 original works.
Curated by Martin Klipp, PEJAC’s exhibition flaunts the vastness of his artistic prowess, with mediums spanning sculptural installations to paintings on canvas and techniques including a burning method called pyrography. Notably, the show’s name is derived from an installation that nods to Monet’s signature Water Lillies inside an emptied, six-feet-deep pool on the bottom floor of the gallery.
“I’ve always believed that my works should speak for themselves; I could never enhance them with my words or my image,” said PEJAC of the exhibition. “I don’t hide; I simply prefer to stay on the sidelines.”
Among his standout works, Hope pictures a flag, made from fine gold leaf, that symbolize the contradictions of today’s world: from afar, the work appears torn and damaged, but up close, it’s clear that the chaotic design resembles flowering branches with perched birds.
Elsewhere, Crack utilizes broken glass to create the illusion of wires, on which PEJAC’s signature bird motifs reside; and Fins, which is shown as a series of three works, transforms the artist’s palettes into tranquil Monet-inspired waters that are disrupted by bronze shark fins — a statement on the rising temperatures of the world’s waterways and the subsequently increased shark activity in new areas.
PEJAC’s solo exhibition, 6 FEET UNDER, is now on view at 18 East 50th Street through November 18. Take a look at some of the key pieces in the gallery above.
In more art news, Henry Taylor presented his first major solo show in France.
