Charlie Nesi: CATHARSIS

The New York-born, Mexico City-based artist Charlie Nesi is showing “CATHARSIS” at Galeriá Umbral—an exhibition space within Hotel Umbral. With a minimalist abstract approach, the artist is working in unconventional ways to explore different materials to create sculpture-driven fine art. In his presentation, Nesi weaves together societal issues with forgotten materials—often the backbone of Mexican material culture. In doing so, the exhibition hypothetically and visually asks the spectator to investigate its usage and potential within that specific culture. Several pieces in the show are made of polished bronze, red velvet, and oxidized steel. Naturally weathered by various chemical treatments, the materials highlight the forgotten or invisible, yet forever omnipresent materials that make up Mexico City’s streetscapes. In “CATHARSIS,” the re-appropriation of the power of these materials is theoretically and physically re-framed, highlighting the boundaries of the juxtapositions between function and aesthetic, public and private, intended and warped. At its root, the exhibition spotlights struggle and the transformations humans are forced to make.