Shop the Show: Mexico City’s Galería Hilario Galguera Inaugurates Its Outdoor Space With an Ebullient Installation of Sculptures

Four New York artists Al Freeman, Kayode Ojo, Carl D'Alvia, and Tony Matelli showcase recent work.

Installation view of "Under a Loggia," 2021. Courtesy of Galería Hilario Galguera and Winter Street Gallery.

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What You Need to Know: Mexico City’s Galería Hilario Galguera is opening its outdoor terrace as an exhibition space with “Under the Loggia,” an open-air exhibition curated in affiliation with Martha’s Vineyard’s Winter Street Gallery. The refreshing exhibition of contemporary sculpture includes works by four New York-based artists, Carl D’Alvia, Al Freeman, Tony Matelli, and Kayode Ojo.

Inside the gallery, the exhibition “Post Tenebras Spero Lvcem,” curated by gallery founder Hilario Galguera, acts as a kind of foil to the outdoor exhibition’s ebullient spirit, and is marked by dark, monochromatic works that focus on the complex realities of our time.

Installation view of "Under a Loggia," 2021. Courtesy of Galería Hilario Galguera and Winter Street Gallery.

Installation view of “Under a Loggia,” 2021. Courtesy of Galería Hilario Galguera and Winter Street Gallery.

Why We Like It: A witty sense of humor runs through the exhibition, revealing each artist’s unique attitudes toward visual culture. And lots of uncanny art-historical and social references wait to be uncovered. For starters, the title of the exhibition makes reference to a fictional novel (about a tryst in Italy) that is central to the plot of E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View, while also winking at the setting of the outdoor exhibition space. A work like Kayode Ojo’s You Can’t Afford Her, in which teardrop chandelier beads hang in a strand from a sheet music stand, amusingly conjures up all sorts of classical portraits of wealthy women. Tony Matelli’s Caesar, meanwhile, has the look of an ancient ruin but instead is a commercially made sculpture that the artist has sandblasted.

What the Gallery Says: The gallery exhibition ‘Post Tenebras Spero Lvcem’ translated from Latin means ‘after darkness, there will be light.’ This a metaphor to give hope during these times of uncertainty. From the interior of the gallery space we are transported outside to the gallery terrace and the lighthearted exhibition ‘Under a Loggia,’ which brings together four artists who are at the gallery for the first time, and the artworks carry a sense of optimism and energy,” said gallery founder Hilario Galguera.

 

Kayode Ojo
Untitled (2021)
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Installation view of "Under a Loggia," 2021. Courtesy of Galería Hilario Galguera and Winter Street Gallery.

Installation view of “Under a Loggia,” 2021. Courtesy of Galería Hilario Galguera and Winter Street Gallery.

Carl D’Alvia
Worm (2016)
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Installation view of "Under a Loggia," 2021. Courtesy of Galería Hilario Galguera and Winter Street Gallery.

Installation view of “Under a Loggia,” 2021. Courtesy of Galería Hilario Galguera and Winter Street Gallery.

Tony Matelli
Caesar (2018)
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Tony Matelli, Caesar (2018). Courtesy of Galería Hilario Galguera.

Tony Matelli, Caesar (2018). Courtesy of Galería Hilario Galguera.

 

Kayode Ojo
You Can’t Afford Her (2021)
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Kayode Ojo You, Can’t Afford Her (2021). Courtesy of Galería Hilario Galguera.

Kayode Ojo You, Can’t Afford Her (2021). Courtesy of Galería Hilario Galguera.

Al Freeman
Soft Broken Mirror (2021)
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Al Freeman, Soft Broken Mirror (2021). Courtesy of Galería Hilario Galguera.

Al Freeman, ˆ (2021). Courtesy of Galería Hilario Galguera.

 

Under a Loggia” is on view at Galería Hilario Galguera through July 23, 2021.


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