Alejandro García Contreras

Swivel Gallery is thrilled to present Alejandro García Contreras’s first major solo exhibition in the United States, Frágil : El Misterio de los Seres Sensibles. Mixing contemporary pop culture with Mexican folklore, ancient myths, occultism and religion, Contreras stages a syncretic continuum of cultures and traditions across time and space, as part of his quest to grasp the mystery of the genesis of the Universe, a perpetual catechism that encapsulates all humans throughout their journey.

Born in Chiapas, Mexico, Contreras’s practice is informed by a multilayered narrative, simultaneously encompassing the rich and deistic heritage of his homeland, coupled by philosophical concepts his zealous spirit and receptive curiosity have encountered around the world. The artist combines these into a stewed barrage of imagery leaving the viewer spellbound. Shaped largely by his life experiences, Contreras approaches his work in a manner where he acts as both alchemist and shaman. His material exploration and his conjuring of symbolic references stems from the entire course of civilization: through his process the artist seems to transfer the entirety of life itself and the unknown while engineering his visionary ceramics and bronze works, and contrarily releases them through imaginative paintings. In this respect, Jacobo Grinberg’s studies hold influence on the artist’s work: his Syntergic Theory stipulates that the structure of the experience is the result of an interaction between an energetic field created by the brain (the neuronal field) and the energetic structure of the Universe where life and destruction convene in a liminal space, where the mystery of the genesis can be evoked again.

In his densely elaborate vessels, the artist synthesizes legends, animals, anime, pre-Hispanic symbology, supernatural beings, demons, sex, cum, eyes, fire, heaven, hell, and everything in between into vibrant vehicles whose surfaces echo the colorful costumes of Carnival or Dia de los Muertos, embracing the relationships Mexican culture has with life, death, and rebirth.

Contreras merges the ancient with the current, connecting truths across timelines oftentimes fusing historic tales retold through contemporary cultures such as Japanese underground anime, revealing recurring symbols and beliefs channeled across the globe offering in their result an unfiltered expression of our deepest fantasies, and perhaps, nightmares. Heroines rebelling the subjugation of the male gaze are the protagonists of his vases. Proving awareness of their desires and seductive power, they stand in juxtaposition to their male counterpart most often reduced to a faceless spirit or demon that chases, searches for, and needs them, for his own pleasure, becoming a victim of his own desires.

Contreras intentionally highlights this vulnerability of one's sexual instinct for its counterpart, seeking and grasping towards higher purposes to preserve balance and love. These works guide us towards the realms of a collective consciousness, where natural elements and creatures can coexist beyond the constraints of civilization, society, and religious taboo. Alejandro García Contreras’ work is a holistic and syncretic ode to our infinite individualities, encouraging us to embrace a new spiritual universality.