Common places – Common spaces

The Goma is pleased to present the first exhibition in Spain of the work of Pierre Descamps (Amiens, 1975). The show features large wall and floor sculptures as well as photos taken in urban settings. The monochromatic designs and the geometric forms of the pieces signal the formalism of the sixties while the materials used speak to Minimalism, although the actual production of these “art objects” has been carried out entirely by the artist.

Pierre Descamps’ skater’s gaze is undergirded by a rupture with the convencional perspective of architecture. The perception of urban forms and spaces from a board is distorted, giving rise to a re-appropriation of the public space. Furthermore, transferring urban fixtures, barriers and surfaces to the terrain of the gallery dissipates their functionality. This modelling enables a triangular experience between the object, the spectator and the surrounding context which is allusive of the readymade. Metaphorically, Descamps places disparate elements in an abandoned desert-like landscape, a state between two territories or times, where nostalgia for the past leads towards the construction of an uncertain future.

The sophisticated legacy from which Pierre Descamps draws—artists like Ellsworth Kelly, Blinky Palermo, Bertrand Lavier…—contrasts with codes taken from street culture, creating an incongruity that undermines the work’s elitist quality. As such, it is no coincidence that he leverages signature elements from Pop, like its use of offset, even though he uses them to reproduce the images in an edition of one. These photos (Monuments) return us to a more specific reality thanks to an understanding of their context, while the objectualisation of these primary structures in the space of the gallery unsettles and keeps us on a more abstract plane.