Event Recap
At the opening talk of Abraham Cruzvillegas' solo exhibition, an art collector Rudy Tseng and foundation director Jenny Yeh were invited for a dialogue. Due to the time difference between Mexico and Taiwan, a pre-recorded video with Abraham was played at the event, allowing the audience to gain a deeper understanding of the concepts behind his work. In the video, Abraham remarked: "I constantly try to slowly build myself, just like the houses of autoconstrucción—it is undoubtedly an ongoing and unfinished process."
The director of the foundation, Jenny Yeh, said: “Through Abraham's narration, we find that both painting and sculpture, it is very moving, it is about the present and a part of his life, expressing himself in different media and ways, telling the present moment.” At the beginning of the conversation, Jenny Yeh and Rudy Tseng shared with the audience the moment they first met the artist and the opportunity to collect. Rudy Tseng also talks about Abraham's experiences at the Gabriel Orozco workshop as a young man, such as the Venice Biennale and the Kassel Documenta. The layers of Abraham's work lay out the context of Abraham's work, including the spiritualism of everything in his work, as well as the background of autoconstrucción.
Rudy Tseng said, “Why was I initially so fascinated by his work? I think it’s because, being born and raised in Taiwan, we all grow up immersed in certain religious traditions. For me personally, I grew up watching my parents practice rituals—mostly Taoist or Buddhist. Probably 70 to 80 percent of us in Taiwan are familiar with these beliefs. In Taoism, there's the idea of animism—the belief that everything has a spirit. The land has the Earth God (Tudi Gong), the stove has the Kitchen God, mountains have mountain spirits, trees have tree spirits. This belief that objects and natural elements carry life or energy really resonated with me. So, when you look at the sculptures in the back—especially the one on the far left—you’ll notice there's an aloe vera plant on top. That was a specific request from Abraham. He insisted that a living aloe plant be placed there. He truly believes that these materials are like living beings—like plants. If you give them sunlight and water, they will grow on their own.”
Jenny Yeh also said: “What Abraham is doing now is happier and easier, but after all this fun and relaxation, like the one just mentioned behind it, it might make sense, but do you really need to know what it means? I feel like it might not be visible, but rather enjoy what he's creating now and seeing something deeper through it.”
