Oscar Murillostudy for social cataracts, 2021

Oil, oil stick, and spray paint on canvas and linen

35.7 x 46.5 cm

About the artist

has developed a multifaceted and inventive art practice, which constantly probes questions of collectivity and shared culture, while being fundamentally connected to the affective qualities of different materials. Murillo creates works with a social dimension, which exist at the border between performances and events. He has invited collaborators to participate in actions including walking through New York or travelling between UK cities carrying mateos (traditional papier-mâché figures made in Colombia), painting swathes of linen black in locations around the world, or holding a party for the cleaning staff of London’s Serpentine Galleries. Since 2013, for the durational project Frequencies, Murillo organised for over 100,000 school students to have blank canvas fixed to their desks, allowing them to freely mark, draw and write on them over a period of months. The project has so far amassed an archive of over 40,000 examples from around the world. These nuanced projects involve others as participants, as opposed to merely viewers, and point to a perpetual curiosity into complex issues of global social and economic relations, community, and spectatorship. At the same time, Murillo’s works possess distinct and arresting material qualities. He is known for large-scale paintings which combine fragments created at different times, in different locations and using a variety of techniques, notable for their use of expressive and energetic mark-making. Murillo is also recognised for creating immersive installations, combining materials such as draped black canvas; rock-like sculptures formed of corn and clay; rusted metal bed frames; and furniture including antique church pews. These experiential and unique works, which can often be found in unusual settings, such as inside functioning churches, schools or outdoors, are testament to the artist’s commitment to the affective power of material to convey complex meditations on contemporary society.

About the artist

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