Carlos Cortes: Black Box Exhibition

GX Gallery is pleased to present
Black Box by Carlos Cortes (3 – 28 February 2015)

In Black Box, Carlos Cortes showcases his new series of paintings and 3D wooden sculptures. Cortes has always produced work that acts as a form of storytelling, whether it is directly through the titles of the work or through the characters within the piece themselves. It’s only recently, however, that Cortes has found that his works have also functioned as a kind of tracking device. This is the explanation for this new exhibition and its title, Black Box. In an airplane, if an accident happens, the black box and the information it records is used to trace the cause. Cortes sees his paintings as acting as tracking devices for the underlying forces that shape our lives and inform our decision making processes.

Across this collection of work, there is a performance and interactive element to each piece. The sculptures are made from fragments of other people’s lives; bits of furniture, flooring boards, doors and window frames, some of which have been smashed, torn and broken. In Black Box, we are confronted with accidents and recordings of everyday dramas that continue their journey by becoming part of an artwork.