COPENHAGEN.- Darío Escobar's 3rd solo exhibition is currently on view at NILS STÆRK.

Encrypted Messages investigates the counterbalance between signs of consumerism and religion in modern history.

The exhibition features two series of works based on found objects. Juxtaposing societal polar opposites, the artist will fill the gallery space with signs collected from roads in eastern Guatemala and southern Mexico, alongside clusters of various paraphernalia from the world of sport. By altering each object, using the historical Baroque technique of applying gold leaf to the surface of an object, the artist reveals the many similarities between sport and religion, both in Latin America and throughout the world. Athletes have become role models for young people, representing as they do a dream of upward mobility. In their eyes, the objects used in sport assume the significance of sacred relics.

As a form of intimidation or by way of pastime, gunshots have perforated the street signs. Initially, the bullet holes come across as representations of violence. However, Escobar seeks to rethink the message of the found object, regarding the perforations as encoded messages – signs that we cannot read, but only approach more tangibly. While these bullet holes may represent the threats of everyday life, Escobar challenges our understanding of the statements with his application of a golden surface. The artist adds a reflective side to the object, thereby overwriting its original message. The language of the objects also shifts from reading to understanding. In this simple, yet powerful gesture, he transforms the holes into more abstract emblems, compelling his audience to view the world in a different light.

Guatemalan artist Darío Escobar (b. 1971) divides his time between Mexico and Guatemala City. Escobar’s work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, and is represented in collections throughout the world, including Centre Pompidou, Paris (FR), Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna (AT) Fundación Jumex, Mexico City (MX), the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Los Angeles, (US), the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), (US). An upcoming retrospective solo-exhibition will open at Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL), Mexico City, in June 2022.