Upon entering the sculpture center and seeing the setting of the show, Alvaro Urbano: TABLEAU VIVANT, for the first glance , there was no clear direction on where to look. However, this also allows the audience to explore on their own. It's a strange yet very inviting space, with marble seating areas arranged in semi-circles, there are trees, lamps and elements all over the place on the floor or on the wall or in the ceiling . Whether it’s the japanese magnolia tree branch sticking out of the wall or the flickering orange and yellow light installation doubling as the “ceiling”. when looking up, the light overshadows what's within it (imagine swimming underwater and looking up at the surface, only seeing shapes). I stared for a long time and noticed a butterfly fluttering in a precise circular path and the route itself became a noticeable trace. The rest looked like fallen leaves. While staring at the ceiling and moving slightly, my feet kicked something accidently that clinked. It was a hyper-realistic leaf sculpture made of metal. Numerous metal leaves lay scattered on the ground, inviting viewers to step on them or kick them around, making the audience part of the artwork. Bitten apples were everywhere, and a book lay on one of the marble chairs. Alvaro Urbano creates an independent time and space like the Garden of Eden that functions as an “otherworld” and beyond traditional temporality.
The way Urbano arranges these objects and designs the whole scene creates a place of timelessness, an alternative reality. This alternate space operates on its own set of rules. Trees that will never die, flowers that never wither, and even apples with bites will not decay over time The butterflies on the ceiling will keep fluttering until everything shuts down. The lights flash with drum rolls, gradually dimming to darkness as the drum rolls fade, then turning on one by one as the sounds re-appear. Everything appears strikingly real on the surface level, closely resembling the actual objects , yet undeniably unreal as they are sculptures. It is seemingly a space of perfection as it disrupts the natural cycles and pauses time. In spite of it being deliberately constructed, the whole space can still easily be subject to destruction and deterioration, through tearing down or water damage.
The presence of numerous bitten apples on the ground in Álvaro Urbano's exhibition could also reference the Garden of Eden myth, where the bitten apple symbolizes the temptation and the fall from innocence. With the inclusion of a book, Urbano also creates a tension between innocence and knowledge, temptation and consequence. The apples could represent the fall from grace, while the book suggests the pursuit of forbidden wisdom. It’s so tempting for any viewer to approach and try flipping through the one single book in the show, but upon realizing it’s an unreal metal object, the viewer, despite the disappointment, remains their innocence, protected from forbidden knowledge and its consequences. In reality, however, every action has a consequence, whether you realize it or not.
Alvaro Urbano’s re-interpretation and of Scott Burton’s Atrium Furnishment invite the viewers to rethink time, space, reality in a romanticized way. While we cannot pause time in reality, the exhibition does create a space where our perception of time is momentarily suspended through the artworks.
