Giacomo Santiago Rogado
Kopf Herz Bauch
Kopf Herz Bauch
24.04. – 05.06.2021
Mark Müller
Hafnerstr 44
8005 Zurich
Images courtesy the artist and Mark Müller gallery
«The artist must prophesy not in the sense that he foretells things to come,
but in the sense that he tells his audience, at risk of their displeasure,
the secrets of their own hearts.»
— Robin G. Collingwood
but in the sense that he tells his audience, at risk of their displeasure,
the secrets of their own hearts.»
— Robin G. Collingwood
In his 1938 work The Principles of Art, British philosopher, metaphysician, and
archaeologist Robin G. Collingwood described the communication of emotion as
art’s central task. Art, according to Collingwood, is ultimately an imaginary
expression of feelings. From today’s point of view, this statement is not only an
overgeneralization and insufficiently explanatory, it also does not apply to all
existing art forms. But Collingwood’s theory is revealing because it explains how
the power of imagination enables us to communicate feelings in the form of
pictures. As a mediating authority between the visual world and reality, it is
possible for artworks to reproduce emotion and affect on both levels, to reflect on
them and to trigger them.
archaeologist Robin G. Collingwood described the communication of emotion as
art’s central task. Art, according to Collingwood, is ultimately an imaginary
expression of feelings. From today’s point of view, this statement is not only an
overgeneralization and insufficiently explanatory, it also does not apply to all
existing art forms. But Collingwood’s theory is revealing because it explains how
the power of imagination enables us to communicate feelings in the form of
pictures. As a mediating authority between the visual world and reality, it is
possible for artworks to reproduce emotion and affect on both levels, to reflect on
them and to trigger them.
The works of Giacomo Santiago Rogado also lie between emotional expression and
exchange. The exhibition “Kopf Herz Bauch” (Head Heart Gut) shows large and
small format paintings by the Swiss artist with Spanish-Italian roots that are intense
in their use of color and illustrate the chosen exhibition title in a wide variety of
ways. The title refers to three levels of the body that each designate foundational,
human qualities: head, heart, and gut are tied to terms like rationality, affect, and
intuition. They label essential characteristics and sensibilities that are part of
Rogado’s artistic process and the intense visual impact of his works.
exchange. The exhibition “Kopf Herz Bauch” (Head Heart Gut) shows large and
small format paintings by the Swiss artist with Spanish-Italian roots that are intense
in their use of color and illustrate the chosen exhibition title in a wide variety of
ways. The title refers to three levels of the body that each designate foundational,
human qualities: head, heart, and gut are tied to terms like rationality, affect, and
intuition. They label essential characteristics and sensibilities that are part of
Rogado’s artistic process and the intense visual impact of his works.
Rogado’s mixing technique is based on a system all its own that results from
phases that build up on one another. This process-oriented technique is clearly
traceable, for in their direct comparison the works reveal their various stages and
layers. The crimson red paint in the work Quelle (Source, 2020) shows Rogado’s
approach to the untreated visual support. With “chemical intuition,” he lets the
spanned cotton be taken by the own will of the paints themselves. The works in the
series Accord (2020) show the enormous spectrum of possibilities that builds on the
first phase of treatment. By way of stencils, formal fragments are applied with the
greatest precision and regularity, condensing the visual surface and reorganizing it.
While Accord 7 repeats the same geometric figure with shades of blue-white, the
wave shapes arranged vertically in Accord 8 seem to almost to multiply infinitely.
phases that build up on one another. This process-oriented technique is clearly
traceable, for in their direct comparison the works reveal their various stages and
layers. The crimson red paint in the work Quelle (Source, 2020) shows Rogado’s
approach to the untreated visual support. With “chemical intuition,” he lets the
spanned cotton be taken by the own will of the paints themselves. The works in the
series Accord (2020) show the enormous spectrum of possibilities that builds on the
first phase of treatment. By way of stencils, formal fragments are applied with the
greatest precision and regularity, condensing the visual surface and reorganizing it.
While Accord 7 repeats the same geometric figure with shades of blue-white, the
wave shapes arranged vertically in Accord 8 seem to almost to multiply infinitely.
The works pursue an autopoietic system where different phases remain
recognizable due to their independence. But Rogado uses technique, paint, and
form in a direct dialogue with one another, a dialogue that results quite intuitively
for the artist, but then again vacillates between rational and emotional decisions.
The works become an emblem of Rogado’s process and, as it were, mirror the artist
himself.
recognizable due to their independence. But Rogado uses technique, paint, and
form in a direct dialogue with one another, a dialogue that results quite intuitively
for the artist, but then again vacillates between rational and emotional decisions.
The works become an emblem of Rogado’s process and, as it were, mirror the artist
himself.
In addition to characterizing the artist’s way of working, the terms head, heart, and
gut also say something about the impact of the works. The artist works in the mode
of painting, but his works are decidedly unlike paintings in the classical sense.
Rogado’s paintings are ambiguous, they do not try to make the real world available
to experience on a visual support. There are no fixed criteria of reference, nor is
there a defined narrative. The works might seem unapproachable at first, but they
are not reticent: instead, they open a space of possibilities in which the picture and
the beholder can engage with one another. In this way, the works address the
context of painting: they take up the theme of the window as a painterly metaphor
and provide a view of something that is found beyond the given visual surface.
gut also say something about the impact of the works. The artist works in the mode
of painting, but his works are decidedly unlike paintings in the classical sense.
Rogado’s paintings are ambiguous, they do not try to make the real world available
to experience on a visual support. There are no fixed criteria of reference, nor is
there a defined narrative. The works might seem unapproachable at first, but they
are not reticent: instead, they open a space of possibilities in which the picture and
the beholder can engage with one another. In this way, the works address the
context of painting: they take up the theme of the window as a painterly metaphor
and provide a view of something that is found beyond the given visual surface.
Rogado’s paintings are portals in a moment in which standstill and inexorable
movement are not mutually exclusive. Often, there is a central point in the picture
that captures the searching gaze, slowing it, drawing it inside the picture. In this
way, the artist makes a counter proposal to today’s often fleeting visual habits and
fixed directions of reading. At the same time, he challenges our longing for
explanation and immediacy. A work like Grasp (2020), so filled with shapes and
colors (and tellingly created at the start of the first lockdown in the artist’s Berlin
studio), is not about being able to reconstruct its visual order. We should allow
ourselves to interact the work and explore ourselves as well, as Rogado recently
explained in a conversation. “Engaging with my works always means exploring
yourself as well. I don’t tell stories or present a strict concept that is easily traced
out, but provide a possibility of learning something about yourself.”
movement are not mutually exclusive. Often, there is a central point in the picture
that captures the searching gaze, slowing it, drawing it inside the picture. In this
way, the artist makes a counter proposal to today’s often fleeting visual habits and
fixed directions of reading. At the same time, he challenges our longing for
explanation and immediacy. A work like Grasp (2020), so filled with shapes and
colors (and tellingly created at the start of the first lockdown in the artist’s Berlin
studio), is not about being able to reconstruct its visual order. We should allow
ourselves to interact the work and explore ourselves as well, as Rogado recently
explained in a conversation. “Engaging with my works always means exploring
yourself as well. I don’t tell stories or present a strict concept that is easily traced
out, but provide a possibility of learning something about yourself.”
The result is a reciprocal relationship between the picture and the beholder: an inbetween, or rather a vacuum in which the world slows and other physical laws
apply. Though a kaleidoscope of emotions, the gaze is released for the interior of
the work, the artist, and ourselves. Quite in Collingwood’s sense, Giacomo
Santiago Rogado does not predict the future, but gives viewers an opportunity to
reflect on their own feelings in the here and now. Here, we not only listen to our
heart, but also to our head and our gut.
Marlene Bürgi, trans. Brian Currid
apply. Though a kaleidoscope of emotions, the gaze is released for the interior of
the work, the artist, and ourselves. Quite in Collingwood’s sense, Giacomo
Santiago Rogado does not predict the future, but gives viewers an opportunity to
reflect on their own feelings in the here and now. Here, we not only listen to our
heart, but also to our head and our gut.
Marlene Bürgi, trans. Brian Currid