Martín Soto Climent at Gamma Galería

Artist: Martín Soto Climent

Exhibition title: Melting Feast

Venue: Gamma Galería, Guadalajara, Mexico

Date: February – April, 2023

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Gamma Galería, Guadalajara

Gamma Galería is pleased to present “Melting Feast”, the first solo-exhibition by Martín Soto Climent (1977, Mexico City) in Guadalajara, Jalisco. The title of the show originates from the concept of the body seen as a banquet, an element that is explored through diverse approximations to matter and the notion of the human figure. Employing a characteristic methodology of composition through the dialogue established between the materials that comprise the works, for the first time in his career Soto Climent presents a body of work based on ceramics which establishes a latent connection with a series of drawings conceived on pig skin where the artist used make-up to implement the element of color. Conceived in the factory of Cerámica Suro in the city of Guadalajara, the body of work in ceramics developed by Soto Climent marks a new milestone in the artist´s oeuvre by separating him from the concept of the ready-made for which he is renowned and placing him in a new terrain where the gestural adopts new forms through a living matter.

From the correspondence between the skin and the make-up to the corporal forms that accumulate voraciously one can perceive glimpses of sensuality and desire in the works conceived for the exhibition, an element which has become characteristic throughout the artist´s career. Employing an organic articulation to take each composition to a terrain that establishes a bond between the gestural and the figurative, Soto Climent seeks to conceive a conciliation between our notion of the suggested element and its potential to culminate under a new perspective. If skin plays the main role in the exhibition it is our notion of vitality which makes the works acquire a new meaning, the tactile and olfactory experience of the materials attempts to awaken the senses and lead the spectator to a place of utmost intimacy where the conception of the body comes to life under a new light. Confronting the spectator with their own human nature and the desire to consume it, the exhibition implements a carnal atmosphere through the tones and materials implemented to reflect an uninhibited state of being.

Martín Soto Climent, Melting Feast, 2023, exhibition view, Gamma Galería, Guadalajara

Martín Soto Climent, The Feast (2023), High-temperature ceramic on cowhide/wood and metal, Variable measurements

Martín Soto Climent, Blobuptzy (2023), Ballpoint and make-up on pig skin, 30.8 x 24.8 cm

Martín Soto Climent, Melting Feast (2023), Ballpoint and make-up on pig skin, 30.8 x 24.8 cm

Martín Soto Climent, Melting Tremor (2023), Ballpoint and make-up on pig skin, 37.8 x 30.8 cm

Martín Soto Climent, Inner Splash (2023), Ballpoint and make-up on pig skin, 32 x 22 cm

Martín Soto Climent, Splash (2023), Ballpoint and make-up on pig skin, 45.5 x 36 cm

Martín Soto Climent, Hummyslutz again (2023), Ballpoint and make-up on pig skin, 37.8 x 30.8 cm

Martín Soto Climent, Bloopthesgush (2023), Ballpoint and make-up on pig skin, 37.8 x 30.8 cm

Martín Soto Climent, Hummyslutz (2023), Ballpoint and make-up on pig skin, 30.8 x 24.8 cm

Martín Soto Climent, Piel Desnuda / Caricias y Rasguños (2023), Pig skin and linen on wood, 110 x 80 cm