Exhibition

Oscar Murillo: A balancing act between collapse and spirit

Want to know more?

Now Open

October 9—November 16, 2024

Opening Reception

Wednesday, October 9, 6—8 PM

Location

London

24 Grafton Street

London W1S 4EZ

Wed: 6 PM-8 PM

Thu: 10 AM-8 PM

Fri, Sat: 10 AM-6 PM

Artist

Oscar Murillo

Oscar Murillo, Telegram, 2013–2024. Photo by Tim Bowditch and Reinis Lismanis. © Oscar Murillo

Darkness a place of radical freedom

Markings, reading and sending telegrams… constellations of thoughts and gestures

Untraceable landscapes. Concealed - irrational!

Fields of despair—scarred.

The playhouse of imperiled spirits

As our world becomes ever more hostile I must go home and be safe—I send to you these telegrams—telegrams of sympathy.

bruised and bleeding.

These words started with the untimely departure of my mentor Okwui Enwezor, in 2019—it was also the first time I thought of Manifestations. Manifestations now need to be Protests…

A decade ago on the eve of All the World’s Futures we spoke of The Artist as Producer in Times of Crisis, a devastating crisis.

We miss you

—Oscar Murillo, July 2024

Join us at the gallery on Saturday, October 12, at 11:30 AM for a performance by Oscar Murillo, A song to a tearful garden. No RSVP is necessary.

Explore

Installation view, Oscar Murillo: A balancing act between collapse and spirit, David Zwirner, London, 2024

Oscar Murillo

Telegram, 2013-2024

Oil, oil stick, ballpoint pen, fountain pen, graphite, felt tip pen, highlighter pen, permanent marker, paint, crayon, staples, natural pigments, debris and other mixed media on canvas

32 1/8 x 57 1/4 inches (81.5 x 145.5 cm)

Installation view, Oscar Murillo: A balancing act between collapse and spirit, David Zwirner, London, 2024

“Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do... But from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.”

—Jared Isaacman, after stepping out on the first private spacewalk, September 2024

Oscar Murillo

Telegram (perfect world), 2013-2024

Oil, oil stick, ballpoint pen, fountain pen, graphite, felt tip pen, highlighter pen, permanent marker, paint, crayon, staples, natural pigments, debris, and other mixed media on canvas

19 7/8 x 57 7/8 inches (50.5 x 147 cm)

Oscar Murillo

manifestation, 2023-2024

Oil, oil stick, spray paint, dirt and graphite on canvas and linen

102 3/8 x 110 1/4 inches (260 x 280 cm)

Oscar Murillo, manifestation, 2023–2024 (details)

Oscar Murillo

(untitled) anterior chamber, 2024

Oil over intaglio on paper

22 1/2 x 15 inches (57 x 38 cm)

Framed: 28 3/4 x 21 3/8 inches (73 x 54.3 cm)

Oscar Murillo, (untitled) anterior chamber, 2024 (detail)

Installation view, Oscar Murillo: A balancing act between collapse and spirit, David Zwirner, London, 2024

Oscar Murillo

manifestation, 2023-2024

Oil, oil stick, spray paint, dirt, and graphite on canvas and linen

110 1/4 x 165 3/8 inches (280 x 420 cm)

Installation view, Oscar Murillo: A balancing act between collapse and spirit, David Zwirner, London, 2024

Oscar Murillo

A song to a tearful garden, 2024

Site-specific installation: acrylic paint, flower petals and stalks on canvas

Dimensions variable

“A song to a tearful garden is a commemorative gesture, an expanding altarpiece to my friend Jaqueline Soto.”

—Oscar Murillo, October 2024

Performance view, Oscar Murillo, The flooded garden, Tate Modern, 2024. Photo by Reinis Lismanis. Courtesy the artist. © Oscar Murillo

Time-lapse view of Oscar Murillo, The flooded garden, Tate Modern, 2024. Video by Tim Bowditch, courtesy the artist. © Oscar Murillo

Jaqueline Soto

(untitled) the peril of distant dreams, 2023-2024

Graphite on paper

16 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches (42 x 29.7 cm)

Framed: 20 1/2 x 15 5/8 inches (52 x 39.7 cm)

Oscar Murillo

fields of spirits, 2013-2024

Oil, oil stick, ballpoint pen, fountain pen, graphite, felt tip pen, highlighter pen, permanent marker, paint, crayon, staples, natural pigments, debris, and other mixed media on canvas

47 1/4 x 143 3/4 inches (120 x 365 cm)

Oscar Murillo, fields of spirits, 2023 (detail)

Inquire about works by Oscar Murillo