Oscar Murillo: Manifestation

"From paintings to installations, Murillo’s play with radical synthesis is vital to his practice. It relates to an artistic tradition developed in the twentieth century that is tied to an increasingly collaged urban experience…He paints in sections on the floor of his studio, often leaving the canvases to gather dust, dirt, stains, and footprints, which then form part of the final work, revealing a contemplation of time and accumulation… As with all collage and the provisional relationships it allows, Murillo’s paintings push and pull. Attention and connotations twist in divergent directions across both space and time. This relates, once again, to the accelerating fluidity in our contemporary period…a swamp of images, productions, and information that diffuses borders…Attempts to understand artistic practice through action and labor are present throughout his process, including his laborious approach to painting, of which he says, ‘paintings are by-products of being in the studio and making work.’ Marking, dyeing, cutting, and stitching canvas comprise the physical activity needed to reflect on the notion of work, its place and displacement in the world." —Emma Enderby, "Meaning Belongs to People", Oscar Murillo, 2017