Coverbild Jose Dávila
A minimalist Table of Contents page with black text on a white background. The contents list authors and titles with corresponding page numbers. Chapters include Introduction: Exercise of the Possible by Jeffrey Grove, A Suspended Connection by Patricia Martin, The Stories We Tell by Karen Stein, and several essays on the work of Jose Dávila. The book concludes with a List of Works, Biography and Bibliography, Artist and Author Biographies, and Acknowledgments.
A wide-angle view of an art gallery with white walls, a concrete floor, and white columns. In the foreground, a large sculpture made of weathered wooden beams is suspended in a crooked line. The background features several abstract paintings with colorful geometric circles and other sculptures on white plinths.
A two-panel image of a contemporary sculpture. On the left, a full view of a tall, abstract structure made of black metal rods resembling a stack of chairs, with two large, gray stones placed within it. On the right, a close-up shot of one of the speckled gray stones nestled among the intersecting black rods.
A two-page book spread. The left page shows a photograph of a tall sculpture made from bright orange wire-frame chairs stacked precariously, with a large, smooth stone resting in each seat. The right page features an essay titled Respect by David Raskin.
An abstract sculpture in a minimalist white room, featuring a precarious stack of four rectangular, light-gray concrete blocks. A large, two-panel, bronze-tinted mirror is propped at an angle on the top block, its surface reflecting fractured images of the gallery. A white nylon strap lies coiled on the gray floor near the base.
A two-page spread from an art book featuring a pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein. On the left, the full, framed painting hangs on a white wall, showing a blonde woman on the phone with a speech bubble that reads OH, JEFF... I LOVE YOU, TOO... BUT... On the right is a close-up detail of the painting, highlighting the thick black outlines and blue Ben-Day dots.
A horizontal row of four framed, black-and-white artworks. Each piece shows a stark white silhouette of an object against a photographic background. From left, the silhouettes are a standing person, a bottle drying rack, a bicycle wheel mounted on a stool, and a urinal signed R. Mutt 1917.
A page from a book showing a vertical, abstract illustration on a tan background. The artwork is a column of stacked semi-circles and circles with various colorful patterns, including rainbow-colored concentric arcs, solid black and yellow shapes, and geometric designs. A partial block of text is visible to the left of the illustration.
An installation view of an abstract sculpture in a museum. On a white platform, various geometric objects made of wood, glass, and stone are arranged. The composition is set against a wood-paneled wall with a row of bright red panels. Taut black cords are stretched between the objects, creating a web of intersecting lines.
A two-page spread from an art book. The left page has a black-and-white photo of Tatlin's Monument above a column of text. The right page features a large color photograph of a heavy gray stone suspended precariously just above a bright red balloon against a plain background.
A two-page spread from a book featuring text and photographs of large, outdoor sculptures in a park. The main image on the right is a color photograph of a monumental sculpture made of stacked, light-gray geometric blocks, with large, dark rocks resting on top. The left page has two smaller installation views, one in black and white showing people playing in a sculpture that doubles as a fountain.
Jose Dávila
€ 58.00
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By (artist): Jose Dávila
Designed by: Rutger Fuchs
Edited by: Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, Jeffrey Grove
February 2023, 312 Pages, 200 Photos
hardcover
258mm x 302mm
ISBN: 978-3-7757-4465-2

HATJE CANTZ VERLAG
Mommsenstr. 27
10629 Berlin
Germany
E-Mail: contact@hatjecantz.de


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| Exercises of the Possible
In a practice spanning nearly two decades, Jose Dávila has created an expressive body of work that explores the visual tropes and iconic symbols of art, architecture, and urban design. Initially trained as an architect and self-educated as a visual artist, Dávila creates sculptures, installations and photographic works that simultaneously emulate, critique, and pay homage to 20th-century avantgarde art and architecture, referencing artists and architects from Luis Barragán to Josef Albers and Donald Judd. Humor and melancholy co-mingle in works that often explore the tension between industrial and organic materials and the forces of compression and balance.
This monograph assesses the full scope of Dávila's practice in all media for the first time, and includes texts attesting to the historical and social dimensions of Dávila's art. Essays address the artist's early pieces, his exercises on balance, sculpture, graphics and paintings, and his works in public space.

JOSE DÁVILA (*1974, Guadalajara) studied architecture in the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente in Guadalajara. His carefully constructed artworks are meditations on balance and the relationship between different combined elements. Dávila lives and works in Guadalajara, Mexico.
EXHIBITIONS
Hamburger Kunsthalle
February 18, 2022-February 18, 2024
Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich
June 2-September 11, 2022
Lyon Biennale
September 14-December 31, 2022
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