Carlos Herrera – “Partir”

Reception: October 24th, 2024

_VIGILGONZALES Cusco - Pampa del Castillo 455, Centro Histórico de Cusco

_VIGILGONZALES Cusco proudly presents Partir, a solo exhibition by renowned Argentine artist Carlos Herrera (Rosario, Argentina, 1976). The exhibition features a meticulously curated selection of works, accessible to the public at our gallery space in Cusco's Historic Center and through our digital platforms.

Ocaso (Sunset) encompasses an extensive series of works created by Carlos Herrera between 2001 and 2006. Through collages and objects, the series reimagines the crucified Christ—his naked form, his suffering, and the compassion his punishment evokes. These works meditate on Christ's body: his descent from the cross, his transport, and his final rest in the tomb. They explore the traces he left behind—bodily fluids, sweat, and blood absorbed by the wooden cross, his crown of thorns, and his loincloth (also known as the cloth of purity or perizonium). The works contemplate both the corporeal scent of Christ and humanity's historical objectification of his form.

For the artist, the homoeroticism inherent in Christ's image remains a constant theme throughout his works and narratives. Christ's body represents his first encounter with both the erotic and the divine.

Homosexuality and faith stand as twin pillars in Herrera's emotional architecture. These elements often generate profound conceptual tensions, spurring critical reflection and comparison. They create an uneasy space for those who embrace both religious devotion and their homosexual identity.

The series includes self-portraits featuring nude Christs arranged among the artist's intimate belongings—stockings, shoes, underwear, pockets, and trouser flies—examining the intersection of homosexuality and faith. Flies detect and feed upon the secretions of a sacred body, while suspended crystals, through their varying hues, represent tears, sweat, urine, and blood.

The term "sunset" serves as a symbolic representation of a scene or moment that marks existence's final phase, closely tied to the concept of decadence. Yet we encounter two distinct interpretations of sunset as an ending: first, as a terminal moment beyond which nothing occurs and nothing awaits; second, as a threshold moment heralding a new dawn.