HARD-LINE
Galería Cayón (Madrid, Spain)
Mar 13 – Apr 23, 2021

The space at Blanca de Navarra 7 featured Hard-Line, a series of ever-changing acrylic sculptures, conformed by circular modules, which nevertheless emphasise the importance of line in David Magan’s work.

Hard-Line, establishes a direct dialogue with the work of artists such as Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) and Frank Stella (1936), two of the greatest exponents of North American Hard-Edge, who, in reaction to the gestures of Abstract Expressionism, adopted a deliberately impersonal approach in which monochrome fields with strongly delineated lines reinforce the idea of flatness and surface in their compositions. Magán also finds references in the dialogue between line and frame established by Robert Mangold (1937) and in the wall drawings of Sol Levitt (1928-2007).

The use of line has been very present in the artist’s work from the beginning. An example is the series Línea Continua, where the sculptural structure draws a closed line in space. It is also present in his embedded sculptures, such as P7/140 v.01, where the effects – accidental or not – are crucial to his later conception.

This new series of works, Línea Vacía – or Hueca, as Magán initially called it – refers back to some reliefs and installations made in 2015. Here, however, the pieces show a much more deliberate and conscious use of line. It becomes a central element of the sculpture, although it appears as an element of the acrylic support, which is a plane.

Magan’s reliefs also include ’empty lines’ (incisions or cuts). Here they have a compositional purpose, leading the eye into the interior of the work, while etching a visual interruption in the design of the reliefs. The line also acts as a modulating element of colour, allowing the viewer to see hues in front and behind, creating an ever-changing visual contrast.

David Magán’s work is not only conceived as a composition, an important component is the constructive challenge – or perhaps play – in the way he approaches each series, imposing restrictions, conditions or ambiguities that will invite the viewer to participate in the artist’s mental process. So, on some occasions, we will see that lines seem to be real incisions cut into the material; for example in Relief 61 v.01, Relief 62 v.01 or Relief 72 v.01. On other occasions, the shape and/or arrangement of the pieces create the illusion of lines, such as in Relief 71 v.02 or Relief 74 v.01.

In Hard-Line, all the reliefs presented start from the circle, a rarity in Magán’s work. By using this form he extends his study of geometry and consequently his creative language.

Perhaps influenced by his interest in Josef Albers’ (1888-1976) idea of ‘transparency and spatial illusion’, Magan exhibited his first diptychs. In these, two identical elements face each other, the only variable being the arrangement of the colour plates. This allows the viewer to clearly discover the different tones that the compositions produce.