Graciela Hasper: An anthology at Galería de Souza with works from the 1990s to the present

A very interesting chapter of the Souza gallery 's program has recently focused on reviving prominent figures from the recent past who, for one reason or another, have lost prominence or visibility. The gallery aims to restore them through various strategies, including exhibitions and publications.

However, this is not the case for the current exhibitor: Graciela Hasper , an artist whose visibility has only increased both locally and internationally since she began to be recognized in the 90s . With works in the most important public and private collections in our country and in the United States, Hasper has just inaugurated "Continuos Motion" at Houston International Airport, a huge mural she created for the arrivals area.

The collection on display these days at Souza's gallery could be considered an anthology of the artist. with retrospective overtones, as it includes works created from the 1990s to the present.

But perhaps more interesting would be to consider it (or explore it) in light of the various issues Hasper has addressed regarding form and color from different materialities over several decades. The different works in this exhibition would not be organized in chronological order, but rather a desire to highlight the different lines of exploration that have defined this artist's output over time.

From the sequence of shapes, colors, and transparencies that summon the visitor from the gallery's exterior window to the different color developments on canvas, aluminum, and ceramics, a whole spectrum of explorations in this direction unfolds on the walls and space of the gallery's two rooms.

A painting from the 1990s can have several coats for each of the colors that articulate the composition, while in a watercolor, the material can slide until the support is visible. Thus, transparency in Hasper's work is a multiple pursuit : it can be achieved through a wash or printed glass, as in the gallery window, which recalls the play of transparencies on different supports he used in 2019 for the large installation he created for the Santander Foundation space.

Today, his approach to color appears different compared to the paintings from the 1990s that can be seen in this same exhibition. Back then, the brushstroke or the movement of the paint itself was noticeable and displayed a gestural quality that is absent in the type of work he produces now.

For example, the large cubes he originally presented on the terrace of the Santander Foundation are part of the collection exhibited here . The industrial imprint of the color of these pieces is undoubtedly related to the type of production of the work itself. The Argentine-born magnate Jorge Pérez, owner of the PAMM Museum in Miami, acquired a version twice this scale for his private collection.

Naturally, a production system for works of a certain size determines a different treatment that affects both the materials and the form as well as the color.

For the Houston airport mural, he worked with a design formed by interlocking painted steel plates. Each plate is shaped and colored, then cut to precisely fit together for adhesion to the wall.

Hasper's work on this mural took two years from its original design to its completion, with parts of the production in person and others done remotely. The artist created a design and then sent the plans to Houston. From there, each shape was cut and painted to be assembled into the mural to cover its entire length.

It's important to highlight Hasper's extensive experience in productions that have ranged from building interventions —such as his early occupation of the space he carried out in 2001 at the then Ibero-American Cooperation Institute —to urban interventions such as the Highway Junction at the intersection of 9 de Julio and San Juan Avenues or the Play of Lights on the underpass in front of the Usina del Arte. In all cases, the leading role of color has been particularly relevant.

Graciela Hasper is a key figure in the rethinking of abstract geometry undertaken by various artists in the 1990s. In the works from those years featured in this exhibition , one can discern an irreverent tone that seems to challenge the strict rationality of the geometric avant-garde, with nods to pop art through the use of color and to pop art through formal games that involve vision in other ways.

The procedures change, but the effects of their geometric, optical games remain and deepen at different scales .

On the upper floor , a series of ceramic tiles and cubes are skillfully displayed on a central device that is held from the ceiling and seems to elevate a color palette with the seductive effects of glazes into the air.

This is another of the many challenges the artist faces when faced with the possibilities offered by a new material or a new medium. Whether on a plane or in the three-dimensionality of the cube or tile shapes, the challenge pivots between the linear forms of the circle, the oval, the square, or their three-dimensional aspects that appeal to a different way of occupying spaces.

In Hasper, color is not limited to producing vibrations on the plane; it also contributes to the space, inviting us to explore and experience volumes . In a space defined by straight lines converging at different points, any human body becomes an organic alteration in a geometric body, an irruption of the natural into an abstract model of lines that have no origin in the universe of nature.

However, these are abstract models that can be inhabited and imagined for multiple possible uses. Children and artists often know a lot about the latter.

The Skin of the World , by Gachi Hasper until Friday, July 11, Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at De Sousa Galería (Paraguay 675).