"Collision" by Gonzalo Guzman at Galeria Senda

From June 14, the Madrid artist Gonzalo Guzmán (Madrid, 1991) presents his first solo exhibition entitled Collision at Galeria Senda in Barcelona, in the framework of Art Nou, the Barcelona Emerging Art Festival, which aims to promote the talent of young artists and, among other things, give them the opportunity to exhibit, and as in this case, for the first time in a gallery.

Lucid dreams have marked Gonzalo Guzmán, since after experiencing them he decided to radically change his life and devote himself fully to sculpture to embody his dreams. His artistic production is composed of stainless steel metal pieces that refer to megalithic monuments such as dolmens, which usually appear in his dream world. The creation of sculptures is a form of research to transfer these figures to reality. In other words, the fact of materializing them makes it possible for Guzmán to interact with them in real life and at the same time other people can do so. In addition, the material embodiment of these works raises awareness of how the environment can be transformed from dreams. The central piece of the exhibition is Collision, a structure that has also been the protagonist of his dreams. This installation is configured by the representation of a three-meter stainless steel stalactite that is suspended from the ceiling of the gallery on a reflective surface.

The reflection of the stalactite on the surface creates the illusion that a stalagmite also exists and, therefore, they are two structures that are about to touch. The strength of the composition lies in the proximity of an impossible collision; in the tension of two volumes about to collide. When looking at the installation, the viewer may question whether he really perceives a six-meter structure or a three-meter structure reflected on a surface. However, neither option is wrong. Likewise, temporal perception is also altered by the presence in the sample of an inoperable clock, since when we dream the notion of time disappears.

In addition, the public will be able to see other sculptures by the artist present in his dreams that allude to megalithic structures. The questions suggested by the observation of Collisió lead us to reflect on the blurred boundaries between what is and what is not real. This same situation occurs in lucid dreams in which the unknown persists about what is part of it, and consequently, the apprehension of reality and our belief system can collide.

The structure is suspended from a suspended false ceiling illuminated with LED lights that was able to be executed by means of Barrisol and the company Instalación de Materiales Acústicos y Decorativos (IMAD). Gonzalo Guzmán (Madrid, 1991) trained as an industrial designer and has been sculpting since the time of the pandemic, when he started having lucid dreams, an experience that can affect up to 50% of the population at least once in a lifetime. In these the subject is aware that he is living a dream and from there he starts to control its development.