"Paintings happen in the studio where I have my own kind of system... it’s a continuous process, a machine of which I’m the catalyst." Oscar Murillo, 2013
Oscar Murillo took the art world by storm with his energetic, bold and irreverent canvases. Murillo references his particular heritage in his larger-than-life quilted compositions – drawing upon his unique upbringing, Colombian born now London-based – and practice. His canvases blend the bombastic bravado that have been the hallmark of great painters throughout art history with a uniquely performative, holistic touch. Murillo’s work is singular in its transgression of physical and ideological boundaries, integrating performance, installation, publishing, “happenings” and sculpture into its, ultimately, painterly focus. The artists explains “I like to cut up the canvas in different sections, work on them individually, fold them and just leave them around for months….The idea is to get through as much material as possible, and various materials go through various processes. In most parts there is this mark making that happens with a broomstick and oil paint. I make a bunch of those canvases, fold them in half, and put them on the floor.” (Oscar Murillo in L. Russell, “Oscar Murillo by Legacy Russell, BOMB –Artists in Conversation,” BOMB Magazine, Winter 2013)
The present lot, Dark Americano, 2012 is infused with swatches of black, grey and underlying snippets of yellow. The word “milk” is sprawled across the upper right hand quadrant in all lower case letters. Though the colors are tonally dark the energy infused through Murillo’s performative act of creating can be felt in every color and line on the canvas. At the heart of Murillo's practice is the idea of labor and work; his art is in constant progression, a product of relational aesthetics. Provisional and deliberate actions co-exist in Murillo's paintings and performances - dirt, creases and tracks mark the movement. “My studio is a cradle of dust and dirt, of pollution. I don’t tidy up at the end of each production process. It’s all very much on purpose; it’s continuous process, a machine of which I’m the catalyst. Things get moved around, I step on them, and they get contaminated. It’s not about leaving traces, it’s about letting things mature on their own—like aging cheese or letting a stew cook, they get more flavorful.” (Oscar Murillo in L. Russell, “Oscar Murillo by Legacy Russell, BOMB –Artists in Conversation,” BOMB Magazine, Winter 2013)
