With art, life is lived better. Artists and enthusiasts form a network in which, in small or not so small bubbles, there seems to be hope; there's a desire to explore other universes at the same time that the one we live in expands more and more. Ever since its creation, SOLO has been one of these very special spheres in which a collection born from personal taste and ambition has evolved into a project where many other initiatives converge, becoming the starting point of journeys that find their cradle within their spaces, just like Bowman Hall gallery did this past June 6, the day of its inauguration with the Australian artist William Mackinnon and his Snakes and Ladders as the first inhabitant of this brand new world.
As a new space for supporting national and international artists, establishing bonds and connections with other galleries from all around the world while creating their very own legacy within the inspiring framework of the SOLO CSV centre, Bowman Hal will and has become an unmissable spot in our art maps. The opening of this space with Mackinnon's exhibition marks a first not just for the gallery led by Mun-Jung Chang but for the whole of SOLO CSV, being the first part of this new contemporary art and culture centre to be opened to the public. Located in Cuesta De San Vicente in Madrid and taking its name from it, the centre is something rarely seen before, not only for its impressive and immense interior — of 4,500 m² — conceived by the recognised Spanish architect Juan Herreros and a never-seen-before design but also for its aim and desire to become a hub of talent, creation, innovation and never-ending creativity.
The CSV space will be unveiled gradually as a project that is ever evolving, learning through experiences and getting better with time, as Óscar Hormigos, SOLO's creative director, shares, “Our aim is for the public to explore and be surprised by the projects at the natural pace at which they grow, without the urgency of fast consumption.” But just with Bowman Hal — a name born from the character David Bowman and the Hal 9000 supercomputer, both from 2001: A Space Odyssey — we could already feel the care and intentions that are being put into this proposal. Featuring an artist like William Mackinnon, whose work has the contemporary element but conveys a lingering sense of nostalgia and introspectiveness that invites reflection and brings infinite memories to mind, is the perfect way to inaugurate a space that is grounded in the present of art but that, through it, reunites the whole spectrum of our world: past, present and future.
The Australian artist, a recognised and respected figure in his home country who catches the attention of every international stage he takes part on, lands for the first time in a gallery, and one of this calibre, in Spain, despite Ibiza being his second residence and spending significant time on the isle, becoming an inspiration and reference for many of the pieces we could see at Bowman Hall. The title, Snakes and Ladders, refers, as expected, to the classic children's game, where the journey towards the goal is never steady; it has many ups and perhaps even more downs, just like life itself.
The scenes depicted in his sometimes colourful, sometimes sombre scenes reflect the “emotional landscapes” of the artist, as he himself refers to them. They are familiar places: a recurrent road, a nostalgic porch that reminds us of warm summer nights, or maybe the wrapping blueness of a pool — all places we can inhabit not only thanks to the big formats of the painting that leave us no option but to submerge in them but also to the everyday nature of all elements presented. Aside from his realistic but at the same time dreamlike way of handling and working with colour, a particularity of Mackinnon's practice is his use of innovative materials, from glitter and special glues that represent technical challenges in themselves to sanders or different objects to splash and alter the canvas, creating new finishes that give depth and complexity to the pieces.
Snakes and Ladders will be open to the public until July 12th, an opportunity to discover for the first time the work of an artist that creates emotional journeys we can all be part of, while at the same time welcoming Bowman Hal and SOLO CSV to our art radar. In September, the collaborative spirit of the gallery will materialise in the form of an exhibition presenting work by American artist Aaron Johnson, already part of the SOLO collection, hand in hand with the French gallery Almine Rech. We have art for the whole year.
