Isaac Cordal

Cement eclipses @ Anderlecht

isaac — 2013-02-07T21:35:05Z

Snow blanketed the streets of Anderlecht (Brussels, Belgium) and I went for a ride with a few of my sculptures.

Some of them decided to stay glued on bridges, gates and walls under the cold winter.

Sans Domicile Fixe

isaac — 2012-12-18T19:59:39Z

This project focuses on a flea market called ‘Jeu de Ball' in Brussels, an outdoor place that is open almost every day of the year come snow, wind or rain.

Many people buy frames to replace thier old images for new ones. These old photos have lost their symbolic value as a family bond, causing the image to become more than ever an object, a spectral fingerprint of the past. These images belong to the organic world of impressions, developed via chemical processes, some painted, others with a careful treatment processed by professional photographers. They look like appearances from the past that warn us of our own destiny. In the eyes of the people portrayed, we contemplate the mystery and expiration of life itself.

The photographs in the market become merchandise without a price tag. Everyday photographs are moved from the trucks without any packaging or protection and they deteriorate in every movement, wet with broken glasses, frames without plaster. ..

The photographs are accumulated with other objects, many of them are them belongings, chaotically scattered on the floor like authentic still lifes, reminiscent of when there is nothing left, like when a home is abandoned because its life has come to an end.

Many of them seem to miss that oh so familiar wall where they were hung for years. They are photographs without walls. Homeless.

Pictures were taken in Vienna and Brussels.

Cement Eclipses 2012

isaac — 2012-12-14T10:25:54Z

Ostend. Belgium

Waiting for climate change. Nieuwpoort. Belgium

Ostend. Belgium

Follow the leaders. Nieuwpoort. Belgium

Ostend. Belgium

Missed call from nature. Ostend. Belgium

Celulosas. Pontevedra. GZ. Spain

Slowly sinking. Pontevedra. GZ. Spain

La despensa. Pontevedra. GZ. Spain

Pontevedra. GZ. Spain

Survivors. Vienna, Austria

Survivor. Vienna, Austria

Málaga. Spain

Málaga. Spain

Trapped in a life time. Málaga. Spain

Winners. Bruxelles, Belgium

Nature. Bruxelles. Belgium

Homeless. Bruxelles, Belgium

In between. Bruxelles, Belgium

Zagreb, Croatia

Calais, France

Cement Eclipses Málaga

isaac — 2012-12-14T09:18:52Z

Cement Eclipses - Málaga, Septiembre 2012 from Isaac Cordal on Vimeo.

More info: http://www.isaac.alg-a.org/Eclispses-de-cemento-Galeria-JM

Cement Eclipses - Málaga, Septiembre 2012 from Isaac Cordal on Vimeo.

More info: http://www.isaac.alg-a.org/Eclispses-de-cemento-Galeria-JM

Eclipses de cemento, Galería JM, Málaga

isaac — 2012-11-27T13:28:40Z

Eclipses de cemento
Galería JM, Málaga. Spain.
Inauguración: Viernes, 23 de noviembre a las 21.00 h.
Exposición: del 23 de noviembre del 2012 al 26 de enero de 2013

La reflexión sobre la sociedad actual a través de la escultura protagoniza esta nueva exposición de Isaac Cordal (Pontevedra, 1974) en las salas de la Galería Javier Marín. El modelado del alambre y las sombras inmateriales como capacidades representativas del cuerpo humano que pudimos ver en su anterior propuesta en la galería dan paso ahora al cemento, un material industrial que representa la huella del hombre en el entorno natural, una huella que no se puede camuflar y que ha ofrecido un resultado brutal en la sociedad civilizada.

Eclipses de cemento
Galería JM, Málaga. Spain.
Inauguración: Viernes, 23 de noviembre a las 21.00 h.
Exposición: del 23 de noviembre del 2012 al 26 de enero de 2013

Cement Eclipses - Málaga, Septiembre 2012 from Isaac Cordal on Vimeo.

La ciudad es un invento tan antiguo como el caos de seres hacinados al calor y a la crueldad que la ciudad les ha procurado. Ahora bien, la noción de individuo, como unidad de pensamiento y de acción propios, es algo más moderna. Baudelaire recorrió y observó el París reformado por Haussmann. Se dejó arrastrar por la marea urbana, dando origen a un lugar común de la literatura, la filosofía y el arte contemporáneo: la soledad del individuo sumergido en el entorno urbano, la pavorosa capacidad de los grandes núcleos urbanos para engullir la diferencia, para homogeneizar hábitos y ritos, para alimentar la ruina lenta del desarraigo.

A través de un interesante discurso de oposición a esa lepra existencial de lo urbano, Isaac Cordal explora el espacio del SOHO-Málaga en esta su segunda exposición en JM, una zona urbana céntrica de la capital malagueña donde se ubica la galería, mediante instalaciones de su reciente y conocida serie Cement Eclipses, un proyecto que discurre entre los campos de la escultura, la fotografía y el vídeo. La escultura fue utilizada como punto de partida para las intervenciones urbanas que han dado origen a la producción fotográfica y audio-visual que reune la exposición. Estas pequeñas figuras de cemento que se integran en el paisaje urbano representan una metamorfosis en la que el ser humano abandona su papel de ciudadano mimetizándose con la ciudad para convertirse en parte de su mobiliario urbano. En un homenaje al ciudadano común, Cordal retrata a perturbados hombres de negocios que se sumergen acompasados bajo el agua de un charco, a un indigente sentado junto a su perro a la espera de algún cambio en la sociedad, a una ama de casa que vuelve del supermercado con bolsas de la compra, o a un personaje que contempla un pequeño e idílico paisaje que encuentra en la soledad de su paseo cotidiano frente a un Museo. De esta manera el hombre confirma su aislamiento voluntario de la naturaleza, camuflándose entre las aceras, las calles y las paredes en su nuevo hábitat natural. Estos seres diminutos también ocuparán los espacios de la galería al igual que ocuparon las calles malagueñas durante un instante o se quedaron a vivir en aceras, fachadas, voladizos o marquesinas del paisaje local. Toda una serie de actuaciones cargadas de imaginación que Cordal aborda en ocasiones con gran sentido del humor y en otras llenas de un cierto dramatismo pero siempre utilizando grandes dosis de emoción. Un mundo de micro-relatos que encierra la complejidad humana y el papel del hombre en la urbe.

Isaac Cordal, formado en la facultad de Bellas Artes de Pontevedra y licenciado en la especialidad de escultura, reside en la actualidad en Bruselas. Fue fundador junto a otros artistas como Berio Molina ó el colectivo de arte electrónico Ludd34560 de la plataforma “Alg-a”, una comunidad de arte digital libre que actúan desde los procedimientos de la creación sonora, modos de interpretar, producir y presentar. Ha participado en numerosas exposiciones en museos y centros de arte. Ha realizado numerosas intervenciones urbanas y participaciones en festivales en ciudades europeas como Londres, Barcelona, Berlín, Zagreb, Bruselas o Viena. Recientemente se ha publicado “Cement Eclipses. Small interventions in the small city” un monográfico que profundiza en la capacidad del artista sobre la exploración del paisaje urbano y la interrelación con el hombre contemporáneo a través de sus trabajos.

Prestige - solo show @HL-Projects, Brussels

isaac — 2012-11-26T19:03:24Z

Isaac Cordal - PRESTIGE
Vernissage:
Thursday, November 08, 2012
18:00 – 21:30
Exhibition Runs:
November 08, 2012 – January 09, 2013

Harlan Levey Projects gallery
37 Rue Léon Lepagestraat, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Hours: Wed – Sun 13:00 – 19:00 and by appointment
info@hl-projects.com

Prestige – solo exhibition by Isaac Cordal

There is no authority without Prestige even once it's sunk. Ten years after The Prestige polluted more than 1000 beaches, Isaac Cordal (Spain, 1974) presents new works and a full look at his project, ‘Cement Eclipses: Small Interventions in the Big City.'

Rue de Theux

In the front hall, Isaac has created a new work for the gallery that transforms the effect that austerity measures are having on families and communities across the EU into a waking discussion. For each 1% rise in the unemployment rate, there is a 0.8% rise in suicides; homelessness is rising quickly across the continent yet there are no published European statistics to date (www.feantsa.org). In line with his direct language, Isaac presents another new work titled: 25k.

25k. Cement. 2012.

Isaac Cordal - PRESTIGE
Vernissage:
Thursday, November 08, 2012
18:00 – 21:30
Exhibition Runs:
November 08, 2012 – January 09, 2013

Harlan Levey Projects gallery
37 Rue Léon Lepagestraat, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Hours: Wed – Sun 13:00 – 19:00 and by appointment
info@hl-projects.com

Prestige – solo exhibition by Isaac Cordal

Rue de Theux

25k. Cement. 2012.

Cement Eclipses (2006 – to Present)

Cement Eclipses – Small Interventions in the Big City is an ongoing research project that deals with space, scale and social phenomena through sculpture, photography and ephemeral installations. In addition to the cement sculptures, Isaac also employs other material like common colanders and city lights. Cement refers to more than material, and had a role in the project's original interest and aims. In 2007, 54.2 tons of cement was purchased for use in Spain. Much of it went untouched as the real estate boom devastated the country's seaboard, traveled inland and contributed to the daily rise of unemployment and poverty wounding the nation. Eclipses, refers to nature, balance and the feeling of being overwhelmed by scale or speculation.

Lehman Brothers. Cement painted. 2011.

Rue de Theux 37. Cement. 200 cm x 90 cm. 2012.

Waiting for climate change (detail). Installation. 2012.

Autumn (sponsored by Prestige)

Media Archeology. Cement. 2012.

Noticia de Prestige, unha exposición de Isaac Cordal en Bruxelas

O artista galego, Isaac Cordal (Pontevedra, 1974), ven de inaugurar o pasado 8 de Novembro unha exposición individual na Galería Harlan Levy Projects, en Bruxelas, baixo o título Prestige, que ven ser ao mesmo tempo unha chamada de atención sobre a catástrofe do Prestige, acontecida hai dez anos e da que agora se está celebrando –finalmente- o xuízo, e unha chamada de atención sobre a ausencia de autoridade moral daqueles –os políticos- que perderan progresivamente o seu prestixio.

« There is no authority without prestige even once it's sunk » (non hai autoridade sen prestixio, unha vez que este se afunde), di literalmente a folla volante que xunto cunha tarxeta postal dun voluntario recollendo fuel se entregan á entrada da sala de exposicións. A exposición forma parte dun macro-proxecto do autor titulado “Cement Eclipses”. Trátase dunha colección de estauíñas e obxectos realizados en cemento, unhas veces pintados e outras non, que recollen varias visións que Isaac Cordal ten sobre a situación actual do mundo. Impresionoume particularmente unha serie titulada “waiting for climate change” (esperando polo cambio climático, ver foto adxunta) onde unha serie de persoas, espera coa auga ata os xeonllos e un flotador a chegada da subida do nivel do mar. Tamén hai dúas pezas metafóricas na exposición que ben merecerían un comentario: unha é un colchón en cemento, homenaxe aos que teñen que durmir na rúa e outra un maletín de cemento de 25 quilos de peso, que é máis ou menos o que Isaac calcula que se levarían certos políticos de comisións por cada obra acordada, cando a tolemia do “ladrillo”.

Isaac adoita facer estas instalacións –que logo fotografía- en lugares públicos, onde se representa a epopea do home actual e a súa relación co medio. Así ten presentado os seus traballos ao público (nunha especie de “arte de rúa”) nas cidades de Pontevedra, Vigo, Londres, Zagreb, Viena, Milán, Berlín e outras que non veñen á memoria. En todas elas acadou público recoñecemento e referencias explícitas nos medios de comunicación locais. Ese situar as pezas nos lugares públicos fai que as máis das veces están desaparezan unha vez instaladas, sendo, como o mesmo Isaac di os axentes de limpeza os seus mellores clientes. Mais el sinte mágoa por esas pezas desaparecidas e prega a todo aquel que se teña levado algunha do lugar onde foron situadas, que lle mande referencia gráfica de que as súas estatuíñas se encontran en bo estado.

Como tantos outros artistas galegos Isaac Cordal tivo que emigrar para se facer un lugar na escena internacional. Vaia isto como aviso para os Museos de Arte contemporánea de Galiza, que semellan non ter moito interese nos artistas galegos, e que só os chaman cando estes adquiren sona no estranxeiro. País pequeno.

Máis información en www.hl-projects.com e na web: Isaac.alg-a.org

Xavier Queipo

(Bruxelas, 12 de Novembro de 2012)

News about "Prestige", an exhibition of Isaac Cordal in Brussels

Last November 8th, the Galician artist Isaac Cordal (Pontevedra, 1974), has just opened a solo exhibition at Gallery Harlan Levy Projects in Brussels, under the title Prestige. The title it is a warning about the disaster of the oil tanker "Prestige", occurred ten years ago (Now there is a final-trial in the Spanish Court), and also a call of attention to the lack of moral authority of those politicians, who gradually lost its prestige.

'There is no Authority without prestige Even once it's Sunk' says literally te flyer that along with a postcard of a volunteer collecting fuel is available at the entrance of the exhibition hall. The exhibition is part of a macro-design of the website entitled "Cement Eclipses". This is a collection of small statues and objects made with cement, sometimes painted sometimes not, they collect multiple views that Isaac Cordal has on the World's current situation. Particularly impressed me a series entitled "waiting for climate change" (see photo attached) where a number of people staring -with water up to the knees and a float- the arrival of the announced rising of sea level. There are also two metaphorical pieces in the exhibition that well deserve comment: one is a mattress in cement, remembering implicitly those who have to sleep on the street. Other is a briefcase cement build and 25 kilogrammes of weight, which is more or less what Isaac estimates that it would take some political committees for each project agreed when the madness of the "brick explosion in Spain and other countries".

Isaac often makes these installations in public places and then takes pictures of them. Those installations represent the epic of modern man and his relationship with the environment. Isaac has already presented his work to the public (a kind of "street art") in the cities of Pontevedra, Vigo, London, Zagreb, Vienna, Milan, Berlin and others that do not come to my mind. In all of them achieved public recognition and explicit references in the local media. Placing the pieces in public places makes that most of the time the statues are gone once installed, being as the same Isaac says the cleaning agents his best customers. But he feels sorry for these missing pieces and asks to anyone who has taken some of the place where they were located, to send reference chart that your figurines are in good condition.

Like so many other artists Galician Isaac Cordal have had to emigrate to make a place on the international stage. Look at this as a warning for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Galicia, which seem not to have much interest in Galician artists, and only call when they gained fame abroad. Small country.

More information www.hl-projects.com and web: Isaac.alg-a.org

Xavier Queipo

Festival des Libertés, Bruxelles, Belgium

isaac — 2012-11-13T21:07:57Z

Last October I participated in Festival des Libertés (Theatre National, Brussels). This is a very interesting festival really committed to the current problems in our society. The central theme was the economic crisis. I've seen some of the documentaries of the festival program (Bitter seeds, A people uncounted, Solo Andat, il viaggio di un Tuareg, The argentine experiment ... ) and they really had an impact on my conscience: I've felt a lot of anger for many injustices of today's society. Documentaries have become a potent weapon to express many injustices.

My humble contribution to the exhibition were several photographs and installations.

I want to express my gratitude to Beatrice, Olivia and Fabrice, and to everyone who has helped me in some way.

"The worst illiterate is the political illiterate, he doesn't hear, doesn't speak, nor participates in the political events. He doesn't know the cost of life, the price of the bean, of the fish, of the flour, of the rent, of the shoes and of the medicine, all depends on political decisions. The political illiterate is so stupid that he is proud and swells his chest saying that he hates politics. The imbecile doesn't know that, from his political ignorance is born the prostitute, the abandoned child, and the worst thieves of all, the bad politician, corrupted and flunky of the national and multinational companies." Bertolt Brecht

My humble contribution to the exhibition were several photographs and installations.

I want to express my gratitude to Beatrice, Olivia and Fabrice, and to everyone who has helped me in some way.

Picture by Davide Petito

-English-

Through the simple fact of miniaturised and well-thought-out placement, Isaac Cordal magically expands the horizons of the passers-by who come across his sculptures in the street. His exhibit Cement Eclipses proposes a critical definition of our behaviour as a social mass. Our relationship with nature is severely called into question, though some installations also let us see a ray of hope.

His statuettes present fragments of our daily routine, depicting men and women suspended in their movement. The precariousness of these anonymous silhouettes, at shoe height, is like a nomadic relic from a society in the throes of illness. The figurines contemplate the destruction / reconstruction of all that surrounds us. They draw attention to the absurdity of our existence.

The city is both playing field and decor, where Isaac enacts, in a surprising manner, with poetry, humour or irony, the banal or more tragic moments of life that grab our attention as we walk along the street.

Francais-

Du simple fait d'un placement miniaturisé et bien pensé, Isaac Cordal élargit par magie l'imagination des passants qui croisent ses sculptures dans la rue. Cement Eclipses propose une définition critique de notre comportement comme masse sociale. Ces statuettes présentent des fragments de la routine quotidienne, des hommes et des femmes suspendus dans leur mouvement. Notre relation dévaluée à la nature y est sévèrement interrogée tout en affirmant des symptômes d'espoir. La précarité de ces silhouettes anonymes, à hauteur de semelle des passants, représente les reliquats nomades de la reconstruction de tout ce qui nous entoure et attirent l'attention sur l'absurdité de notre existence dans des scènes présentant les tâches routinières et les moments parfois tragiques de notre existence. Par la touche magistrale d'un metteur en scène, les sculptures sont disposées de manière à ouvrir rapidement les portes d'autres mondes.

Sculpture Quadrennial Riga, Latvia

isaac — 2012-10-14T10:08:00Z

Follow the leaders´s installation at Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2012.

Picture by DIDZIS GRODZS

http://www.satori.lv/raksts/5010/Telnieku_dumpis

http://arterritory.com/lv/teksti/recenzijas/1624-integracija_bez_zelastibas/

ANATOMY OF INTEGRATION

Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2012 (SQR 2012) is devoted to the theme of “Anatomy of Integration”. The chosen theme is topical in a lot of countries on a socioeconomic level. The focus of SQR 2012 is the analysis and determination of the current interrelationship between various cultural zones.

The theme of Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2012 - “Anatomy of Integration” has been planned at European Union level as an international contemporary sculpture festival. Artists and art professionals from the European Union, Nordic countries and elsewhere have been invited to take part, which will lead to the establishment of an intercultural and international dialogue through art.

Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2012 (SQR 2012)

is devoted to the theme of “Anatomy of Integration”.

The chosen theme is topical in a lot of countries on a socioeconomic level. The focus of SQR 2012 is the analysis and determination of the current interrelationship between various cultural zones Accessible, socially-aware art, that reflects different political contexts and situations, will increase public understanding of the processes all of us are involved in. The project will also invite people to get acquainted with different interpretations of these themes - philosophical, ethical and aesthetic - by artists from member states of the European Union, Scandinavia and other countries. The focal point of the exhibition is 'personal experience as part of the collective experience'. The main motivation of the festival organisers in choosing this theme was its topicality in Latvia. That is to say, the citizens and inhabitants of Latvia form a union that is, on the whole, bilingual: approximately half of the population speaks Latvian and the other half, Russian. In addition, there are some other communities present, each with their own language, culture and religion. These cultures live independently of each other, as if in parallel worlds and spaces of information. Latvia has always been on the border of great empires – the western frontier of Tsarist Russia (later the USSR), the most easterly point of Germany's influence and now the eastern border of the EU and NATO. However, Riga, always a crossroads and a battleground between different powers and cultures, has never given up on its dream of a unified society. We would like the Quadrennial pieces of art to act as a 'hot potato', stimulating thought, discussion and analysis of the issue of integration from different perspectives. The theme of Sculpture Quadrennial Riga 2012 - “Anatomy of Integration” has been planned at European Union level as an international contemporary sculpture festival. Artists and art professionals from the European Union, Nordic countries and elsewhere have been invited to take part, which will lead to the establishment of an intercultural and international dialogue through art. Our primary goal is to make the art objects at the festival more accessible to the general public, particularly those not normally exposed to art. For this reason, the majority of the exhibition will take place in open, urban spaces in the centre of Riga – the surroundings of the Freedom Monument and near the park of the Victory Monument. We hope that this will help to increase interest in - and understanding of - contemporary art among a more diverse range of people, thus creating an ideal environment for a fruitful dialogue.

More info: Sculpture Quadrennial Riga

BLK River Festival

isaac — 2012-10-09T17:42:56Z

Last September I participated in BLK River Festival in Vienna. I made some ephemeral installations as well as some permanent installation in the streets. I had a great time there.

Many thanks to Sydney Ogidan and Johanna Lakner.

Last September I participated in BLK River Festival in Vienna. I made some ephemeral installations as well as some permanent installation in the streets. I had a great time there.

Many thanks to Sydney Ogidan and Johanna Lakner.

I´ve also made this installation during the Festival. The lights are recharged during the day by sunlight. The light turns on automatically at night and shadows are projected.

The installation comprised of one face (shaped from pieces of metallic grid mesh wire made by hand) hanging from a cable spinning horizontally. Through LEDs lights positioned a few feet away from the hanging features, the light passes through the wire mesh, constructing facial outlines that are cast out as its shadows are projected.

BLK River 2012

To the age its art, to art its festival. 13. - 22. September 2012

Artists

Blu
Evan Roth
Florian Riviere
Isaac Cordal
Mark Jenkins
ZukClub

Program

Thursday Sept. 13, Gartenbaukino, Start 23:00. Film: This aint California, D 2011 Friday Sept. 14, Workshop, BLK River rsvp@blkriver.at Saturday Sept. 15, Sept. BLK River Projects Sunday Sept. 16, BLK River Projects

Monday Sept. 17, Workshop, Florian Riviere rsvp@blkriver.at Tuesday Sept 18, Bike Tour, Start 14:00 rsvp@blkriver.at Wednesday Sept. 19 BLK River Projects Thursday Sept. 20, Evan Roth FREE SPEECH Friday Sept. 21, Bike Tour, Start 14:00, Free rsvp@blkriver.at Saturday Sept. 22, Kunsthalle, Begin 13:00 Free Entrance Plakat*zine Fair, Free Entrance

The BLK River Festival team gets some of the most significant representatives of the international street art scene to Vienna. Every September, artists from all continents are invited to honour Vienna by realizing projects in various locations all around the capital. Black River utilizes the whole city. Public artist talks, where the stars of an art scene that simultaneously seek and avoid publicity in equal measure are participating in discussions, as well as a group exhibition and a filmprogram with selected street art movies to complete the program.

/// MUU /// Muzej ulične umjetnosti

isaac — 2012-09-12T18:55:05Z

/// MUU /// Muzej ulične umjetnosti

6-9 Setember 2012, Zagreb, Croatia

Thanks to Ivana Vuksic and everyone involved in this project.

Susjedi

Haarp´s effects

MUU /// Street Art Museum Zagreb/// 2012. from MUU /// Muzej ulične umjetnosti on Vimeo.