Social Cataracts by Oscar Murillo

Central to the exhibition is Oscar Murillo’s (untitled) surge series (2018-present), some painted over the past few years, and some made specially for this show. The paintings, which the artist refers to collectively under the title social cataracts, are dominated by blue and white oils interspersed with other colours, built up layer by layer. Composite grounds are created using stitched together fragments worked upon with different techniques and in different times and places. The final layer of dense oil strokes is then applied in gestures which flow across the paintings’ surfaces. Traces are visible of the vigorous and even violent processes the canvases embody, including smears of paint and even rips and seams in their surfaces. The colours and strokes in the paintings are inspired by Monet’s venerated water lily paintings.

KM21 presents Murillo’s first solo exhibition in the Netherlands. New and recent works draw on sources of inspiration such as the world-famous water lilies painted by French artist Claude Monet; as well as reflecting the turbulent backdrop of social upheaval against which they were made.

KM21
Stadhouderslaan 43
2517 HV Den Haag

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