PIERMARQ* is pleased to present Espectáculo de una noche / One Night Show, an exhibition of new work by Spanish artist, Javier Ruiz. This is Ruiz’s first exhibition with PIERMARQ* in Sydney.
Javier Ruiz’s compositions depict figures, flowers and still-lifes against the backdrop of the Andalusian landscape with an uncanny balance between credibility and oddity, resulting in incomprehensible yet plausible scenes. In thick layers of oil paint, Ruiz creates intense, theatrical imagery with a strong focus on material, lighting and drama.
In One Night Show, mysterious characters perform an opera from Ruiz’s imagination, based on Spanish oral tradition and folklore. Combining elements of still life with nomadic people, tribal masks and pagan rituals, the series tells a story of passion, love, hate and symbolic images related to cante jondo flamenco.
The twinkling of stars can be glimpsed in the night sky, while the sound of clashing coins and the sweet sound of broken hearts resounds.
In this magical and ephemeral scenario, we find the caravans of the gypsies on the dusty paths, where the past and the present of the eternal journey without destination intertwine.
The flamenco soul, made of emotion and feeling generates this sacred ritual and the gypsy nomads dance under the flamenco spell that follows the star of fortune; that fleeting star, like life, that between flashes and shadows weaves the tapestry of passions and tragedies.
One Night Show is an opera that shows us the sound of the flamenco spirit, that ancestral lament that springs from the deepest part of our being, searching for freedom and redemption. The spark capable of giving warmth to a whole wandering people. Passion, drama, mystery and miracle are interwoven in a cultural fabric that transcends time and space, manifesting itself through the vibrant energy of each composition, transporting us to the world of intense emotions and universal human conflicts.
In this new metaphor, Javier Ruiz briefly illuminates some of these stories, where ancient histories and the relentless quest to capture the essence of the human condition intertwine, leaving their mark on the vast landscape.
-Victoria Rivers
Javier Ruiz (b. 1989) lives and works in La Carolina, Jaén, Spain. His work is included in private and public collections such as Museum Voorlinden, NL and The Green Family Foundation, US.
