Cisco Jiménez: Paradojas en Frecuencia Modulada: New York

Ruiz-Healy Art is pleased to present Cisco Jiménez: Paradojas en Frecuencia Modulada (Paradoxes in modulated frequency), a solo exhibition of works by Mexican artist Cisco Jiménez. Cisco Jiménez: Paradojas en Frecuencia Modulada will be on view at our New York City gallery from September 10th to November 1st, 2024. An opening reception will be held on September 10th, 2024, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. This is Jiménez’s second solo exhibition with the gallery.

Regarding the artist, the late Francesco Pellizzi says, “Arising from the complex surrounding him, it is as if many of the artist’s objects-images evoke (possible) “things-of-use,” one and another dimension of the lapse of their operation and use, but at the same time by doing this they make this reality of our mass consumption grotesquely obvious.”

In the tradition of Mexican popular art, Jiménez uses text as an educational, political, religious, or commercial element in his works, creating his icons and naming his creations with humorous neologisms. In his 2023 collage, Inconformidad geológica, Jiménez carefully includes text, labels, and drawings, pointing to Indigenous, modern cultural, and social references.

 “They create very striking compositions that end up being a type of codex or diagrams, most of the time bordering on the absurd and the Dadaist. They try to explain something concretely and end up being more like the mental chaos each can build in their own mind.”- Cisco Jiménez on his collages

Playing with the idea of an unconventional landscape, Jimenez creates tension between the natural and industrial worlds in his work,Corte geologico con repisa. Pipes and cables disrupt the organic forms of mountains and plateaus, shedding light on the silent depletion of environmental resources.

 

In his work Radiograbadora interconectada, Jiménez presents a vivid painting that features an intricate boombox filled with colorful wires, controls, and components, creating a sense of chaotic order. The various tangled wires spark a sense of connectedness, while the knobs, buttons, and openings suggest the multifaceted nature of technology. The device feels familiar and contemporary, blending retro and futuristic elements and presenting the intricate relationship between technology and its pervasive presence.

“Making ceramics has become a cliché with very tired designs, and I thought that if there are groups of indigenous women who are very marginalized in their circles of poverty, why not change their way of creation by introducing new content in which they can continue making their pots and jars, but daring to do this crazy thing, like a kind of virtuous circle in which they follow tradition but at the same time innovate.”- Cisco Jiménez

Continuing his exploration of consumerism and cultural heritage, Cisco Jiménez's clay boomboxes act as nostalgic artifacts examining technology's transient nature. By collaborating with indigenous artisans, in this exhibition with Carmen Camilo Ayala de San Agustín Oapan, Guerrero, Jiménez transforms the boombox into a cultural dialogue and preservation symbol. These sculptures highlight the contrast between the once cutting-edge technology and the timeless craftsmanship of indigenous clay art, encouraging viewers to contemplate the passage of time and the evolution of societal values.

 The artist explores the concept of dualism, giving life to modern and ancestral Andean elements. In his work, Radiograbadora Andino, the acrylic painting features a detailed depiction of a boombox set against a backdrop inspired by Andean motifs. Geometric designs mirror the abstract weaving traditions of Indigenous and modern Andean societies, with color serving complex, even philosophical, roles. This contrast highlights the intersection of technology and cultural heritage, reflecting on how technological advances coexist with, and sometimes overshadow, traditional practices.

Francesco Pellizzi writes in his essay Hybrid-Hidden Worlds in Morelos: Animation and Artifice in the Work of Cisco Jiménez, “From the start, he was fascinated by “phantoms'' of hi tech (and its consumption) and especially in its now obsolete tools - useless, cast-off ruins of an outmoded technology - from whose “sentimental and nostalgic charge,” as the artist himself notes, he has been unable to “free” himself, to the extent that he wishes to re-construct the suggestions and emotions of his mnemonic images by means of their artistic doubles - objects-artifacts no longer “functional” as we saw, but rather of great “aesthetic” refinement and even with a sensual charge.”

Referencing the interconnectedness of our environment, Jiménez illustrates the unseen domino effect of industrial disruptions throughout the globe as well as the inevitable permeation of organic and inorganic worlds.  In Interconnected volcanoes, avolcanic web parallels the continuous carving forms in the handmade wooden frame, extending the network beyond the painting. Similarly, in Interconexiones orgánicas y tecnológicas, 

Jimenez designs a dreamscape of floating battery chargers, radios, and circuit panels, contrasted with crystals, sediments, and biological forms, all connected by technicolor wires.

 

Pre-Hispanic figures and ancient pyramids intersect with 20th-century boomboxes and turntables, creating a poignant reminder of the blend both cultures have created and are now part of modern Mexican culture. Humor and paradox are constants in Latin American life; Jiménez utilizes his witty humor and a broad color palette to balance the visual action of political criticism and social malevolence that plague the Americas.