LAS OLAS: GIORGIO CELIN

From 11/06/2021 To 17/06/2021

Eve Leibe Gallery is pleased to present LAS OLAS, the first UK solo show by Colombian-born artist Giorgio Celin. The exhibition Las Olas is a continuum of Pajaros del Atlantico, an ongoing exploration on the themes of Latinx immigration, self-discovery, queerness, gender, human relationships and acceptance.

Las Olas recalls Celin’s fascination with the sea, a sea that divides and dissects geographical and human bonds, a sea that, for immigrants, needs to be surpassed and subdued. Waves crashing on the seashore, deleting feelings, relationships, memories. Las Olas are metaphors of troubled and stormy emotions and thoughts that each one of us feels while loving, but the waves are also tangible symbols in Celin’s paintings. Sinuous fingers and shadows visually communicate human’s fluctuation of desires, needs and feelings. Las Olas are continuous movements, whirling thoughts going back and forth. Representative of change and mutation, waves allow us to redeem and reborn. Don’t let yourself be swept away by Las Olas, fight them, conquer them, feel them - Cecilia Monteleone

Celin says : “Las Olas / The waves is the natural continuation of Pajaros del Atlantico, an ongoing series where the artist explores themes related to queer Latinx immigration, nostalgia and the sense of belonging. The sea is a polysemic symbol: the vision of the sea reminds us of time and the very experience of life through time, due to its mutability and instability that coexist with its constancy and repetitiveness (a wave moves in circles but it’s never the same wave ). Its depth and instability are also symbols of human hearts, capable of harbouring a vast range of feelings and emotions. The horizon on the beaches also confronts us with the unknown; The sea stretched out in front of us incites us to the desire to travel it, to conquer it, and it always has a very important symbolic power in the mind of an immigrant. The title of the show comes from one painting with the same title: the scene represents 3 characters tangled in a complex love affair; coming from different places of the world, gender and social classes but somehow, united by the same sea. The contemplation of the sea is also the contemplation of oneself and the other. It is precisely this correspondence between the sea and the deceitful hearts of men that make the stormy sea a symbol of human passion. Associated with the heart of man, it is the seat of passions, so that, on occasions, crossing its rough waters is synonymous with learning to master and overcome them. It is also seen as a reflection of the course of human existence and the fluctuations of his desires and feelings. The paintings in Las Olas/the waves, compared to the Pajaros del Atlantico ones, are more focused on the theme of relationships, intimacy, and the importance of representation of the African and indigenous heritage in the context of the Latinx Diaspora. The brown, mestizo bodies painted by the artist experience joy, sadness, pain and solitude, reclaiming space in the visual conversation. Existing outside the monolithic perception of the mainstream Latinx stereotype.”