The artwork features a minimalist composition with the word "DOCENT" prominently displayed in bold, uppercase letters against a plain, white background. The visual elements are limited to this simple typographic design, creating a stark and impactful visual statement. The subject matter appears to be a commentary on the role of the docent, or art guide, in the contemporary art world. The artistic style is characterized by its minimalist, conceptual approach, highlighting the power of language and typography to convey meaning. The context suggests that this piece aims to challenge traditional notions of art interpretation and the expectations placed on those who facilitate understanding of artworks. ...
Manuel Solano is a multimedia artist who cross pollinates sensorial experiences of the natural world with pop culture references across video, painting, and performance. Muddying the supposedly separate arenas of palaeontology, queerness and ‘low brow’ culture, Solano troubles the hierarchy of ‘worthy’ subject matters. Portraits of Iggy Pop or Twiggy might sit in conversation with paintings of family members, or tongue and cheek scenes of dinosaurs flamboyantly dancing. Solano lost their sight in 2014 due to an AIDS related illness. At this point in their career they began to focus more exclusively on their figurative painting practice, drawing from memory, dreams, books, or films.Relying heavily on touch, Solano works with three studio assistants in Berlin. They sketch scenes Solano communicates to them and once a drawing has been approved by Solano who traces the pencil marks on paper, this sketch is then mapped onto canvas and marked out with pipe cleaners. Solano then paints with their hands, swapping fingertips and the curvature of their palms for brushes. This bodily relationship to the works gives each piece an immense sense of intimacy. Simultaneously traversing interior and exterior worlds, Solano continues to make work which expresses both the intricate development of the self, whilst curtly examining the peculiarities and biases which shape contemporary culture. ...
Founded in 2011, Carlos/Ishikawa’s program is dedicated to considered and ambitious exhibitions that offer diverse artists’ perspectives on structural, socio-cultural, and political questions. The program focuses on international artists with often wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary and experimental practices. There is an interest within the program of challenging the aesthetic conventions of conceptual art, and a focus on art that is able to operate on an affective, emotional level as well as a rigorous intellectual one. The gallery has offered many artists their first solo show, many of whom have gone on to receive recognition internationally. ...
