Una Lucha de Paisajes, Albarrán Bourdais, Madrid, 2025

For his second exhibition at Albarrán Bourdais, Colombian artist based in Paris Iván Argote presents a new body of work that deepens his exploration of the notions of monument, public space, and collective identity, approaching them with a blend of tenderness and humor.

The exhibition is centered around a new video work that documents site-specific actions performed outside the gallery, in which Argote engages in a modest yet symbolic act of repair: filling cracks in the pavement with pigmented cement, which is then inscribed with words such as “Dignidad y respeto”, “Una lucha de paisajes” or “Sentir tu peso”.

The film is set in dialogue with other bodies of work that, drawing from urban language and material, establish an immersive public realm in the exhibition space which incites more horizontal modes of relating to each other and to heritage. Using text, the pieces invite the viewer to reflect on the power of language as well as to question the structures of authority and power, which are often taken for granted.

Argote’s longstanding practice working with public interventions spans from small scale actions to monumental recent works, such as the New York High Line’s Plinth Commission “Dinosaur” (until 2026), the installation “Descanso” at the Venice Biennale in 2024 and a series of public interventions as part of his 2022 exhibition at the Centre Pompidou, in relation to his nomination for the Prix Marcel Duchamp.

In all, Argote questions our relation to public space and its history, often experienced through monuments and heritage. For his Madrid exhibition, the artist performs a site-specific intervention in various locations near the gallery, where he mends the cracks in the pavement –a gesture of repair and generosity– with pigmented cement. Then, he inscribes these slabs with words that act as slogans for new modes of being together, charged with tenderness and gentleness while operating as an act of resistance. The videos capture this gesture of care and generosity, transforming a simple action into a poetic reflection on repair, resilience, and the need for mutual respect.

The use of text as a tool for resilience and poetry is a recurrent theme in Argote’s work. “Una lucha de paisajes” features new pieces from new series such as “Clouds”, “Cracks”, “Prints” and “Breathings”, in which the artist works around the construction and formation of narratives. The first are hanging in the exhibition space, their materiality put in contrast by the instability of the installation. Etched into the concrete bars are disruptive statements that invite the viewer to reflect on the power of language as well as to question the structures of authority and power, which are often taken for granted.

The series of “Cracks” bronze pieces that reproduce the 9 phrases printed on the streets. Each piece is unique and was made by hand by the artist himself. They serve as the tangible memory of those texts and also preserve the marks of the manual gesture and the traces of the creation process.

The series "Prints" marks a new exploration by Iván Argote in the pictorial field, where painting is combined with his characteristic work in concrete to transform the behavior of materials. Through a sophisticated technique developed after years of experimentation, Iván Argote creates low reliefs that integrate iconic texts from his practice, carrying strong political and emotional content. The text is combined with bronze details embedded in the cement, adding a new texture to the contrast of materials. "Prints" is a series that represents a transition between painting and sculpture, where the boundaries between the two disciplines become blurred.

On the other hand, new works of the series of “Breathings” present an interplay between text and botanical imagery, creating a strong contrast between imposing text that acts as a love poem to the people around us and delicate illustrations of plants and leaves. Here, Argote invites us to consider the balance between strength and fragility.

Presented alongside the textual works are a concrete bench and the series colorful rocking chairs “Pájaros”, inspired by traditional models found in various parts of Brazil and Colombia. Here, the artist has built them in pairs or trios, placed beside each other but turned in opposite directions. Originally designed for contemplation – a moment of pause, of watching time pass by –, here the viewer is invited to see their partner and join them in rocking with the same rhythm, for a moment of joint contemplation.