November 11, 2022
Samuel Salcedo's artistry to reflect memories through materials
Paula Latiegui

In the past exhibition "JUNKYARD" by Samuel Salcedo at VILLAZAN, the Catalan artist presented his most recent artistic project composed of faces apparently calm with their characteristic closed eyes.

In this exhibition, Samuel Salcedo tries to explain the complex concept of memory through the surface of his sculptures: human figures on a scale much larger than real size. The artist highlights that just as the course of time creates marks on our skin, the materials of his works suffer 'accidents' during the process of creation as a consequence of  'letting oneself go'.

Samuel Salcedo "CRASH TEST II", 2022 & "CRASH TEST III" 2021, aluminium. 70 x 70 x 70 cm. © VILLAZAN

This is why the materials used in works such as Crash Test are intended to provoke a reaction in the visitor that collides with his or her own reflection in the aluminum.

What Samuel is looking for is that everyone who looks at it feels part of the work,

and beyond observing their figure, they manage to see what emotion predominates at that moment.

In the series 'Rolling Stones' the viewer also sees himself, but this material is similar to a black mirror that acts more as a resting space. The artist fills the mold with resin and fills certain empty spaces with kneaded materials. This process of creation that he uses in most of his sculptures is a metaphor for the inevitable uncontrolled nature of life, the same one through which we find unexpected things that, at the same time, give meaning to existence itself, as well as to the artist's sculptural work.

Samuel Salcedo "ROLLING STONES", 2022, epoxy resin. 180 x 80 x 80 cm. © VILLAZAN
The accumulation of the heads, one on top of the other, refers to the synergies that people form along the way.

In "Metal on Metal” the work is adapted to the space, is minimized. This is why, in honor of a rainy memory, the iron looks rusty and there are holes. In contrast, the concrete transports the viewer to a familiar place, which is an integral part of his life, and the wood symbolizes the passage of time through its trunk, marks ... the life that goes with its vicissitudes.

Samuel Salcedo "METAL ON METAL", 2022, cast iron. 105 x 80 x 80 cm. © VILLAZAN
The artist's sculptures are in a state of absolute calm, apparently in a continuous dream, observing a future that only they can glimpse.

The exhibition invades the space with serenity and beauty, after experiencing Samuel's anarchic process of creation.

If you didn't have the chance to visit Samuel Salcedo's exhibition "JUNKYARD" at VILLAZAN you can now watch the video in which the artist explained the exhibition himself.