by Jorge Manes Rubio reframes sculpture as active matter
Exciting and mysterious sculptures with Jorge Manes Rubio celebrate a world inhabited by a variety of beings — whether human or non-human, material or spiritual. The artist is exhibiting a curated selection of his latest works at BLISS, a group exhibition at the Rademakers Gallery in Amsterdam, combining ancient rituals and symbols with modern stories and techniques, reimagining our relationship with nature and spirituality.
Made from a range of materials including sand, ceramicsand glass, the works engage with ancestral symbols and concepts such as shape-shifting or ritual magic — a world where objects become material embodiments of thoughts, feelings and memories, entities in constant transformation. Made over several months of lockdown, these objects reframe sculpture as active matter: something that can be handled, experienced and ultimately activated.
I need you to know that even if you’re not here, you’re here (Juanita) | all images courtesy of Jorge Mañes Rubio
an exploration of innovative and “humble” materiality
BLISS presents the work created by Jorge Mañes Rubio in recent years, which sought to embrace a cyclical perception of time, where spiritual power does not belong to the past, to stone, forever immobile. Instead, it appears rather as free-flowing around us in perpetual circulation. At BLISS, the artist envisions an exciting world where the past, present and future can happen simultaneously, forever connected through objects, people and places.
Among the exhibited pieces is the Peak of Eternal Light, the result of Mañes Rubio’s long stay at the European Space Agency ESA. Working with the Material Research Lab, he had access to Lunar Regolith Simulant (a material used by ESA that replicates moon dust) and other rare aerospace materials which he used to create a number of interesting design objects. By reframing the Moon as sacred ground, the project challenges the exploitative colonial patterns historically taken for granted in space exploration.
from the ‘Spirit Vessels’ series | clay, sand, wood, pigment, cotton, thyme, sodalite, mixed stones
Furthermore, the exhibition presents his latest series ‘Ceremonial Technologies’ and ‘Spirit Vessels’. The works invoke the discussion of human renewal and the possibility of finding comfort in times of turmoil. Mixing clay, soil, plaster and other humble materials with precious freshwater pearls and glass beads, Jorge Mañes Rubio takes his chances to re-enchant the world, making the invisible visible.
There is an enigmatic quality to these sculptures that undoubtedly comes from the artist tinkering with the materials in the countless hours of construction process behind the works. “I now recognize art and culture not simply as products of our human imagination, but rather as expressions of the permeable boundaries that define our world and the larger-than-human dimension that defines it.” notes.
BLISS runs until April 29, 2023 at the Rademakers Gallery in Amsterdam and features works by Jorge Mañes Rubio, Joana Schneider, Yamuna Forzani, Tomáš Libertíny, Milah van Zuilen, Catalijn Wouters, Milah van Zuilen and Jule Cats.
artist wearing Untitled #5 (Play) as his astronaut portrait, from the Peak of Eternal Light series | mylar, clay
from the Ceremonial Technologies series | clay, glass beads, nylon thread, cotton thread, dumortierite, green aventurine
Untitled #6 (Afterlife), from the Peak of Eternal Light series | mylar, lunar regolith simulator
And every time you dream about me, a door opens, from the series “Spirit Vessels”
clay, coconut soil, freshwater pearls, glass beads, brass, polypropylene cord, nylon thread
installation view at Rademakers Gallery
the group exhibition BLISS features several artworks made with Lunar Regolith Simulant and aerospace materials
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Untitled #2 Yellow Gold (Reflection), from the Peak of Eternal Light series | Aluminum aerospace film on canvas
from the Ceremonial Technologies series | clay, glass beads, nylon thread, cotton thread, dumortierite, green aventurine
We Can Feel Right Through You, from the Ceremonial Technologies series
project information:
name: BLISS
designer: Jorge Manes Rubio
designboom received this project from us DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.
edited by: ravail khan | designboom
