Galería Karen Huber presents Héctor Madera's solo exhbition, Érase una vez una historia feliz.

For his second solo show in the gallery, Héctor Madera presents a new body of work that resumes the use of paper, collage and tape; the media that he worked with while taking a master’s degree in Brooklyn College (New York) and that he put aside for a couple of years to experiment with painting and other media.

Madera’s work comes from personal experiences and from observing everyday scenarios that reflect daily struggles. Embarrassing moments, unfortunate circumstances, and insignificant achievements are the inspiration of his artistic practice. This new body focuses on his separation process from an important partner, to whom he dedicates the show.

We encounter flowers—as a leitmotiv—represented through diferent media, neon lights, on large sheets of film paper or as collages made from a sort of memorabilia: flyers, drawings, clippings and magazines from 2010 and 2011–the period when the relationship begun. Through these gestures, the artist tries to express his emotions, the sadness and feeling of loss, in a happy yet melancholic way. The flowers represent an act of humility; flowers are happiness, but also grief. The neon flower on the floor was cut; the artist kneels to get it and ofers it as a farewell gesture.

Accompanied by the text A ‘Kitsch’ Homage to Loss by curator Abdiel D. Segarra Ríos, this series reveals without any doubt a more sensitive side of Madera, or as he puts it a ‘soft Madera.’ Away from his play with words, from the reggaeton slang and the degeneracy that we normally see in his work, here the artist opens up to reveal his deepest nature and to openheartedly share sadness from a place of pleasure and happiness.

— Karen Huber Galería

Schedule your appointment here