As coronavirus restrictions ease here in the SF Bay Area, it is quite exhilarating to be able to go out to galleries and see art once again in person. I visited Miguel Arzabe’s exhibition “Cóndor de Cuatro Cabezas/Four Headed Condor” twice, once masked, before the opening day of June 15, and again unmasked, more recently, to dig a little deeper into the work. Johansson Projects was filled with an array of brightly colored, two-dimensional objects displayed on the walls, as well as a sculptural installation. From a distance one might not initially pick up on the techniques the artist employs, perhaps imagining him using tape to grid off his canvas. And that wouldn’t really be so far from the mark, as Arzabe’s art practice at one point did rely upon the exhaustive use of tape, which helped motivate his current, more unusual practice of working with weaving strips of canvas or paper.
The wall-mounted works fall into two categories, works of woven canvas, mounted on traditional wooden stretcher bars, and works of woven paper, hung on wooden dowels. The kind of obsessive and detail-oriented structure of the works hints at a nimble mind, with a fine grasp of many variables at once and an ability to problem-solve structural or mechanical problems as they arise. Perhaps it may come as no surprise to learn that Arzabe, while paying deep homage to his Bolivian roots and indigenous cultures, is trained as an engineer, with a Master’s Degree in Fluid Dynamics.
Arzabe morphed from engineer to artist many years ago, picking up an MFA from UC Berkeley along the way, and apparently hasn’t looked back. He has compiled a lengthy résumé, with numerous international exhibitions and museum shows, as well as residencies and installations at the likes of Google, Facebook and YouTube. Jill D’Alessandro, curator of textiles at the de Young Museum, spoke with Arzabe at the gallery last weekend, an event also live-streamed on Instagram. They had initially met the artist when the artist held a residency at the museum in 2016.
When D’Alessandro presented the artist with an introductory question, he prefaced his response first with his thanks to those present, then asking all to reflect on the fact that they were currently on Ohlone soil. This shifted the dynamics of the talk to a different wavelength, and one began to sense how Arzabe might look at the world.
Five of Arzabe’s works are on, or of, canvas, in a variety of systems that combine cutting, weaving and stretching the fabric, upon which the artist has already painted. Two 20th century modernist painters provided reference material, the artist reinterpreting their works in his own paintings, which are later sliced and woven together. In some one canvas was woven into a work already on the stretchers, in others the weaving was stretched over the bars after completion.
Cosme (2021) bears the name of the artist’s father, as well as referencing the cosmos. Shapes flicker with rough, torn-appearing edges, navy blue toward center with brighter colors, orange, violet and phthalo blue, toward edges. A border is formed by lighter, cream-colored areas on top, bottom and right edges of the canvas. Some areas have longer vertical bands interwoven with shorter horizontal strips, and vice-versa. D’Alessandro and Arzabe discussed how he likes to turn his work during its making, in a painterly fashion, rather than working with a set warp and weft. Also unlike traditional weavers, Arzabe works intuitively, rather than following a set pattern. Feeling very organic, its snippets of abstract form have a somewhat Kandinsky-like energy.
Arzabe, whose parents moved to the US before he was born, returns fairly frequently to Bolivia to visit his ancestral home, and see relatives who still live there. At an outdoor market he discovered some vintage pieces of weaving, marked with holes and stains accrued in the passage of time, and these have provided inspiration for some of his motifs. He later discovered a reference book on Andean textiles, learning the meaning of a number of the animal symbols used in the designs. In Andean culture, many such mythical creatures are depicted and inform the legends passed down over the generations. One, which he had mistaken for a crab, was in fact a four-headed condor. The exhibition title, this phrase also alludes to four energies joined in the work, the two modernist painters, Arzabe himself, and ultimately the viewer.
During his talk, an audience member posed the question of precisely which two modernist artists were involved, but Arzabe demurred on a response. A colleague, one who also references other artists, had advised him that once he said it, he “couldn’t take it back…and that it would be all anyone would want to talk about.”
Ti Quiero Inti (2021)refers to the Incan sun god, as well as the artist’s daughter, also named Inti. A central triangular shape in pale blue hues is flanked by arcs and funnel shapes in hot pink and burnt orange, suggesting sky and mountains. A band of brilliant yellow snakes down from the top of the canvas just off center, about to the midway point. This vibrant work suggests not only the artist’s love for his daughter, but for nature as well; it also suggests the work of Marsden Hartley.
Many of the works incorporate Yupo paper, a synthetic, polypropylene-based paper that is archival and extremely durable. Cuniraya (2021) is an imposing piece of woven acrylic on Yupo. Eighty-nine inches high, it is hung on a wooden dowel suspended from flat metal hooks screwed into the wall, lending it the feeling of a traditional tapestry or other textile art form. Curvilinear forms, evoking Jean Arp, break up into small squares where bits of weaving peek through, as well as larger squares that create a modernist grid on the lower third. The sleek Yupo material also creates an interesting contrast to the traditional craft references.
The striking En El Ojo el Cóndor (2021) features a central area of cadmium red, with wing-like forms in orange and pink, dissolving into background. A drab grey-green surrounds this, punctuated with a smattering of Matisse-like stars on the left. A fringe of white at the bottom creates an insistent energy, as intersecting diagonals meet in a central “v” configuration. Arzabe may be referencing 20th century painters, but his palette appears very 21st century, with acid hues and oversaturated values that somehow convey a digitally-informed perspective. Also, the persistent emergence of individual squares, created by the weaving process, simultaneously evokes the building block of our contemporary world of digital images, the pixel.
A sweeping angular installation work, Alas (2021) of strips of warm-hued, painted canvas connects the two sides of the gallery space, passing through the archway, and anchoring to wooden supports on the floor and high up the wall. The curved edge where the seven bands wrap and turn the corner before descending is a dramatic moment. Shadows on wall and floor add to the impact of the immersive experience.
Arzabe’s work is very much of this moment, reflecting a combination of influences and concerns, a mingling of materials and techniques that intertwine the ancient and the modern, the physical, mental and spiritual realms as well coming into play. Created during the time of COVID, it is infused as well with an undercurrent of uncertainly, wariness. Reflecting on that aspect, the artist stated that he found immersion in his complex process allowed him to focus his energy into something positive, and it is that resilient spirit of hope which resonates throughout.
Barbara Morris
Miguel Arzabe Cóndor de Cuatro Cabezas/Four-Headed Condor at Johansson Projects through July 24