March 16 – May 6, 2023
deCERCA Gallery
Los Yoses, San José.
In “Ode to the Sixth Day,” the domestic sphere takes on new symbolic meanings as it invokes alternative care routines and platonic relationships that diverge from conventional notions associated with this space.
Moving away from a sense of seclusion and confinement portrayed by literary figures like Dickens, Austen, and Brontë, the exhibition transitions towards an emancipatory portrayal that emerged from female artists in the seventies. In this depiction, waiting ceases to exist; instead, there’s the potential for creation, personal growth, and spiritual development for the main characters. It is from this desire to disrupt the order inherent in everyday life that the artists embark on their creative endeavor.
This marks the debut exhibition by Gloriana Sandoval and Paz Ulloa at the deCERCA gallery. Driven by shared interests rather than a specific artistic style, their collaborative work employs everyday elements, transforming them into poetic, often surreal visions. With meticulous attention to detail and a critical perspective, they turn the kitchen into a new arena for aesthetic experimentation.
With a deliberate nod to a shared historical context, both artists draw inspiration from Classical Antiquity, referencing amphiphontes as an ancestral precursor to the modern birthday cake, reimagining it in its ritualistic essence.
Originally, Paz’s drawings were her way of externalizing shifts in mood, making these shifts visible and containing them within an abstract realm for self-observation. Their small scale reflects the primary intention, evoking the intimacy of personal space. These drawings also functioned as a practical response to a common constraint—the lack of time, which hindered the execution of complex cooking processes. Later on, the idea arose to make them edible, introducing the concept of sharing this introspective journey.
Building on Paz’s actions, Gloriana joined her and proceeded to envision these forms, capturing them through a series of temporary and fleeting constructions, ranging from ready-made items to substances, evoking traces of an alternative objectivity rooted in materiality.
In the heart of the exhibition space, the composition of pastels and objects transforms into a form of “micro-drama,” directing attention to a non-verbal realm that is simultaneously amorphous and tactile. Though concealed, vestiges of a performative act linger, while what we observe is the aftermath of that performance.
The pastels, akin to ephemeral sculptures, underscore the concept of instability, both in form and concept. It is within this instability—between the potent impact of imagery and the physical, immediate presence of material—that memory is triggered. This, in turn, highlights a specific state sought to be emphasized: a state of transformation, sensorial exploration, vulnerability, mediation, and dreams. Through this departure from the ordinary, pastry emerges as a new poetic language.
