ARCO: Madrid

Illusion and Revelation

Santiago cárdenas & agustín fernández

Leon Tovar Gallery is pleased to present Illusion and Revelation, a showcase bringing together two iconic Latin American artists with distinct approaches to engaging the viewer -Santiago Cárdenas Arroyo and Agustín Fernández. Though divergent in style and theme, both share critical similarities in their pioneering manipulation of perception to engage the audience. On view from March 6 – 10, 2024 at ARCO Madrid, the exhibition juxtaposes these artists to demonstrate the breadth of the Latin American avant-garde, challenging traditional categorization.

Cárdenas (b. 1937, Bogotá) intrigues through precision. His illusory paintings of chalkboards and everyday objects reject passive observation, drawing the viewer into illusionistic depth. Meanwhile, the late Agustín Fernández (b. 1928, Havana; d. 2006, New York) confronted audiences by fusing mechanical and anatomical elements in psychosexually charged scenes. Though both transgress artist-audience divides, they do so toward widely differing ends.

In showcasing these pioneering conceptualists together, Leon Tovar Gallery speaks to the interconnected avant-garde practices across Latin America, as well as their unique inflections. It poses vital questions about the ever-evolving essence of the Latin American aesthetic spirit and affirms Latin America’s formative yet overlooked contributions to global conceptualisms.