SC Gallery presents “Petricor”, by Gabriel Coca. This will be the artist’s first solo exhibition in this Bilbao-based art gallery.
The exhibition will be open until 22th of February, 2023.
Hours: Tuesday – Friday: 17.00-20.00h. Monday closed.
Address: C/ Cortes 4. Bilbao
For further information or catalogue feel free to contact: scgallery@scgallery.es
“Aalborg” & “Lied” 22x16cm + “Beams Beta” 54x73cm / Oil on canvas
“Petricor” & “Lanah” 65×92 cm / Oil on canvas
“Steinn” & “Reindhart” 27×35 cm / Oil on canvas
“Astra” 130×195 cm + “Clea” 22x16cm / Oil on canvas
Gabriel Coca (Pamplona, Spain, 1989) explains in his own words the original idea behind this exhibition:
Petrichor is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil. This term was coined by two geologists who discovered that this smell derives from an oil exuded by certain plants. This oil is absorbed on the surface of sedimentary rocks. During rain, the oil is released into the air along with geosmin, a chemical substance produced by terrestrial bacteria. The release of these compounds combined in the atmosphere is what produces this distinctive scent.
This title came to my mind as I was looking at the sky. I didn’t choose it for a specific reason: it just appeared, like a flash, or maybe it was an echo. As “petrichor” resonated in my head, it became more and more attractive to me. I began to think about its meaning and how the phenomenon occurs, and I began to relate ideas. I remembered a quote by Cézanne:
“I first need to discover the geological foundations. […] I breathe the virginity of the world in this fine rain. A sharp sense of nuances works on me. I feel myself colored by all the nuances of infinity. At that moment, I am one with my painting.”
It is the first time that I prepare an exhibition with the title already decided, and I think that it has conditioned me. Thinking about leaden skies, walking under a fine rain, or associating colors with the idea of a scent.Maybe this conditioning is the reason why there is a strong tendency towards gray in these paintings. It is not a specific grey, but different greys, those that come from mixing complementary colors. Perhaps this is why I insist on a barely saturated tone and its minimal variation, with the habit of moving the brush in two directions: vertical and horizontal. Rain and soil.
I place myself under that fine rain, I look at it from within. I enter its pace, its timing. The same thing happens with painting. I think it is and endless pursuit. I’m under the impression that I’m continuously painting the same thing, just with slight variations. Each painting is the cause of the next one and the consequence of the previous one. Different fragments that form a whole in motion.
I usually stop at the moment where it seems that the painting is going to become something. It’s a feeling similar to when it seems like it’s going to rain, but eventually it doesn’t. I like that the painting remains like that, being that moment. I’m interested in that non-presence, the relationship between what is there and what is not.I like it when it looks like it is going to say something, but it doesn’t say anything. I like it to keep quiet.
Gabriel Coca
