Octavio Abúndez

CURRO presents its first exhibition of 2022, a solo show by Octavio Abúndez (Monterrey, 1981). Instructions Unclear presents a new body of work by the artist that intervenes in the gallery space using metal, mirrors, and ceramics. Life is that for which we have uncertain instructions. This exhibition continues Abúndez's preoccupation with the subtleties of historical narratives, offering now a map that aims to describe the human experience in its totality and individuality. The physical and textual material he employs for this purpose creates a play of reflections and interrogations that extend throughout the exhibition space.

Instructions Unclear is composed of a bundle of questions, reflections, and attempts to represent “the whole”. In the end, the artist acknowledges that human aspiration is fallible. Reassured by this certainty, he creates a monument to error or absurdity that also speaks to utopia and constant change. Similar to Abúndez's past production, these works seem to address the utopian and the dystopian, but not in a moralizing manner, but rather by noting humanity's achievements, as well as failed promises and frankly impossible aspirations. Beyond individual questioning or call to action, the political potential of Abúndez's work lies in the simple exercise of accounting for the history of thought in an effort to reimagine other possible paths. If we base our reality (or perception of reality) on our beliefs and the answers we give to certain questions, it would not hurt to review them, which would be to face a manual with unclear instructions.

— Galería Curro