Solo Show – Eltono

Desperfectos

SET Espai d’Art (at Galería Nueva)
Madrid, Spain
October 2021

For the solo show Desperfectos, I presented three projects: Plotter de paseo (walking plotter), Transportistas (shippers) y Chaparrones (rain showers).

Plotter de Paseo (Walking plotter)

Following my research around the idea of making art while walking, I made a walking plotter that uses gravity and my body’s movements to activate some mechanisms and create drawings from my paths.

Transportistas (shippers)

I built five boxes to ship five artworks from my studio in France to the gallery in Madrid. A box is meant to protect the art, but I painted the art on the outside of it. Instead of protecting, the box helps the deterioration of the art. I imagined this project as a collaboration between the shipping companies and me. I built, painted and handled the boxes with maximum care until the very moment I handed them over to the shipper. At that point I lost control of their condition. I was only able to discover the result when I arrived at the gallery in Madrid.

– T1 and T2 were sent with La Poste (Colissimo),
– T3 was sent with TNT,
– T4 was sent with UPS,
– T5 was sent with DHL.

Chaparrones (Rain showers)

Artworks created for the solo show Sérendipité at the Hangar 107 Art Center in Rouen in July 2021.

Following my researches around the idea of artwork alteration with uncontrolled external factors, I decided to take advantage of the Normandy weather to walk around the art center each time it was raining, protecting myself under an artwork. The colored parallel lines sequence traced with felt pens are defaced by the water drips which make the ink bleed. because the exposition time is the same for each outing, the characteristics of each rain shower can be clearly seen in the result. Big spaced drops, light rain or strong rain shower all leave a different imprint on the ink.

Set Espai d’Art
Galería Nueva

More information: https://galerianueva.com/galerias/setespaidart/

Sérendipité

Hangar 107 Art Center
Rouen, France
July 2021

For the Sérendipité (serendipity) solo show, I presented eight bodies of work: two generative mural paintings, four street experimentations, one interactive mural installation and a generative sculptures project.

Averses (rain showers)

SM7

The SM7 sculptures are a reiteration of the Modo n.°7 protocol using volume. Eight different shapes are generated and laid out so the sculpture is stable. Once the balance is found, the molded pieces are assembled and the sculpture is fixed.

55 panneaux (55 panels)

Following a generative protocol, 55 abstract compositions were painted on 50 x 50 cm wood panels. The hanging system allows to easily move the pieces around. This way, all along the duration of the show, the public can switch the panel around to make the composition evolves.

Modo n.°46

Puting the technological breakthrough of NFT in generative art to good use, I uploaded a code online so 16 collectors could generate 16 digital abstract compositions. Each one of them was painted in a cell following the generation order. The final result was discovered at the end of the painting because no simulation of the complete composition was made.

https://www.eltono.com/lab/projects/modo46/

RUFO

An abstract composition is painted on a wood board and a rope is attached to it. I walk the board, painted face towards the floor, on a looping route that has been defined beforehand. The result is discovered at the end of the loop. In Rouen, I chose to walk eight boards on paths going through the docks and bridges around the Seine river.

Modo n.°45 (Modo n.°7 reiteration)

After discovering a perfect 7×7 grid on the central freestanding wall, we painted the generative wall painting Modo n.°45 following the Modo n.°7 protocol.

Pierres peintes (painted rocks)

When I arrived at the art center, I went outside to look for rocks. Each rock was painted with three different color coats. The rocks were then brought to the right bank of Rouen and I kicked them to make them roll following predefined paths. Some of them were dropped in the Mont-Saint-Aignan slopes and one, the biggest, rolled on the left bank around the art center.

Détours

Random paths (x5) were executed in Niort in 2017 for the show La Ville et le Mouvement curated by Winterlong Gallery.

For a predefined time, I wander in the city with a dice in my pocket. At each street intersection, I roll the dice to decide where to go next. The GPS data of the path is recorded and a sculpture is made out of the result. The sculptures are shown like abstract artworks resulting of my movement in the city.

Overview of the show:

Thanks to all the Hangar 107 crew, Jean Guillaume, Nicolas, Marc, Kim, Théo, Caro, Marilou and Gabin.

Pictures: Juan Cruz, Jean Guillaume Panis and Eltono.

Anomalías

SET Espai d’Art
Plaza Miracle del mocadoret 4, Valencia, Spain
September 15th – November 11th 2017

www.setespaidart.com

I’m always looking for new systems to make the city part of my creative process. Each experiment I do is a series and, to be able to compare the results, I carry out these experiments very rigorously and methodically. In the process, I often find myself in strange situations, off-key from the reality that surrounds me. In the city’s routine, my actions can be perceived like anomalies. The generated artworks act as testimonies of the experience lived between the artist and the city.

6 aros (6 hoops)

This project started with a map of Valencia. I looked for itineraries with the most circular shape possible. I found six. I created a wooden sculpture from each itinerary. Subsequently, I walked each sculpture in the city on the very path it represents. Each walk varied from 1 to 6 km. I presented the sculptures as they were at the end of each walk.

Piedras pintadas (painted rocks)

I looked for rocks in the streets around the gallery. I found 14. For each one, I noted down the exact place where it was found. I brought the rocks to the studio and I painted them with 3 coats of 3 different colors. Then, I brought each one of them back to the place where I found it and from this point, I kicked it through the street until it entered by the gallery door.

Dibujos en la EMT (drawings in the bus)

Running away from the comfort and the security of the studio, I drew pictures while sitting inside the urban buses of the city of Valencia. I drew the same composition 12 times during 12 journeys on different bus lines. Every imperfection on the drawings are the result of the annoyance and discomfort produced by the movement of the trip. I not only had no absolute control over my drawings but I also had no control on where the bus was bringing me; at the end of each drawing, when I raised my head, most of the time I was totally lost.

Crossroad #3

Doppelgaenger Gallery
Via Verrone 8, Bari, Italy
Double solo show with Italian artists Sten&lex
May 4th – September 20th 2017

www.doppelgaenger.it

I showed three different bodies of work:

Percorsi Aleatori, three collages on paper representing three 10 minutes random itineraries that I executed in the streets of Bari Veccia using a dice in my pocket.

Esculture Casuali, a random sculpture experiment where the length and angle of each segment composing the sculpture were decided at random.

Morceaux Choisis, eight randomly generated woodcuts following the rules of generative mural Modo n.º7.

3 Percorsi Aleatori (I)

3 Percorsi Aleatori (II)

3 Percorsi Aleatori (III)

Sculture Casuali (I & II), 3 Percorsi Aleatori (I, II & III)

Sculture Casuali (I & II), 3 Percorsi Aleatori (I, II & III)

Sculture Casuali (I & II)

Sculture Casuali (I & II)

Scultura Casuale (prototipo)

Morceaux Choisis (VI, VII & VIII)

Morceaux Choisis (IV)

Morceaux Choisis (V)

Morceaux Choisis (I, II & III)

Fluctuación

Antonia Puyó Gallery
Calle Madre Sacramento 31, Zaragoza, Spain
September 29th – November 19th 2016

This new series of works is built on the itineraries generated by wandering randomly in the streets of Zaragoza. The exercise consisted in walking half an hour in the city using a dice at each intersection to determine where to go next. The artist and more than 60 participants performed the experiment and the results were translated to different medias: a wall painting in the Delicias Park, three sculptures, three collages, five paper cut-outs and a video.

Pictures by Daniel Pérez

Modo n.º11 – generative and participative painting:
4 days and over 60 participants – project curated by Antonia Puyó Gallery for Asalto Festival.

Pictures by Antonia Puyó Gallery and Asalto Festival

Text by Estela Rojo (in Spanish):

TRANSITAR Entre DELICIAS (Y GALERIAS)

Explorar, experimentar, observar, participar o deambular son términos ya habituales en el trabajo de Eltono. Artista del espacio público, como él se define, crece artísticamente desde la práctica vinculada al graffiti más puro, para evolucionar en la búsqueda de soportes y lenguajes que no sólo actúen en el espacio público sino que lo activen, generando líneas de reflexión sobre nuestra forma de relacionarnos y mirar nuestro entorno inmediato.
Sus acciones se han revelado la mayoría de las veces a través de la geometría y los colores planos, generando un código muy personal cargado de simbologías cercanas a lo caligráfico que interactuan con el espacio y hacen partícipe al contexto arquitectónico. El azar es uno de los condicionantes importantes que marca la dirección de su ir, introduciendo la aleatoriedad y el juego en sus procesos. Aparecen componentes lúdicos que tienen que ver con esa idea del disfrute, de la libertad del salir a vivir la calle y dejarse llevar por elementos que ella misma le proporciona, a veces de forma imprevisible, otras marcada por formulas autoimpuestas. Eltono pinta, arrastra, pega, clava, mide, genera nuevas experiencias desde la exploración y la deriva. Un sinfín de posibilidades, combinaciones y experimentos que van renovando su propia investigación formal.

Nacido en Francia su transitar vital le ha llevado a dejar una fuerte huella en España donde ha vivido durante más de una década formando parte de colectivos como Equipo Plástico, Noviciado 9 o trabajando junto a artistas como Nuria Mora, Momo y Luce entre otros. De esta forma su trabajo ha ido constituyéndose como uno de los referentes en el arte urbano español desde inicios de los noventa, en plena efervescencia del movimiento, hasta nuestros días. “De Madrid al cielo” dicen, en su caso Pekín, Londres, México, Varsovia etc… son numerosas las ciudades que recogen la huella de su “deambular” por las calles, a veces de forma clandestina y en otras bajo proyectos amparados por galerías e instituciones.
Este es el contexto en el que hoy nos encontramos: el espacio privado, un reto al que ya se ha enfrentado en numerosas ocasiones y que aborda como una más de las “tensiones” que un artista urbano afronta. En su caso este conflicto de “territorio a combatir” lo resuelve apropiándose de ese lugar como si se tratara de un mero contenedor de experimentos, una base logística o un escaparate más. Disuelve las fronteras convirtiendo la galería en un espacio para la invitación, donde romper barreras que separan al artista de aquel que ¿no lo es? proponiéndole, eso sí, sus propias reglas del juego. Genera dinámicas cercanas al espectador y formas colaborativas de producción ya que el propio visitante puede compartir mediante un dibujo su propia exploración del recorrido y colocarlo junto a las piezas de Eltono estableciendo innumerables diálogos.
El resultado de sus acciones en el Barrio de las Delicias, durante el festival ASALTO y en el entorno de la galería, se recogen en la sala de forma abierta, proponiendo enlaces con la experiencia directa del territorio urbano. Pasear por lugares conocidos y compartir esos recorridos por los que el propio artista se ha dejado llevar en un proceso de descubrimiento, hace que el concepto de transitar o recorrer el mismo espacio tome gran importancia en la configuración de la psicogeografía del barrio.
El artista reivindica a través de sus acciones y sus piezas un arte de contexto, incidiendo en su dimensión social. Nos hace conscientes del poder transformador del trabajo artístico en nuestra propia percepción de los lugares cotidianos, mediante un gesto tan sencillo y revelador como… caminar.

www.antoniapuyo.com
www.festivalasalto.com

Lugares Comunes

Luce + Eltono
SET Espai d’Art
Plaza Miracle del mocadoret 4, Valencia, Spain
November 13th 2015 – January 12th 2016

“Lugares Comunes” was my first collaboration with Spanish artist Luce. We worked during three weeks on four installations based on observations and experiences we had around the city of Valencia.

1 – Escalera Butrón (break-in ladder):

This piece is about making holes in abandoned plot walls so we can facilitate the access to their interior. The holes were punched following a zig-zag pattern so that they could be used as a ladder. We used hammers and chisels and the holes came out irregular because they were made quickly and illegally. The size had to be big enough so a foot could fit in it. In the gallery, we showed five full scale “break-in ladders” made of wood. They were exact life size replicas and included the same shape, dimensions and arrangement for each hole. Reproducing the holes in wood had to be done rigorously and required precision and accuracy, which was a direct contrast to the way the holes were randomly produced on the street with a hammer and a lot of adrenaline.

2 – Periscopio (periscope):

This is a hollow omega shaped structure we build to be placed on top of deserted plot walls. Inside, a set of mirrors allowed us to literally see through the wall. We attached wheels so the artifact could be moved horizontally offering the viewer a proper exploration of the inside of the plots. In the gallery, we built a wall to support the periscope and showed a video of how people used it to see through different walls around the city.

3 – Asientos Acondicionados (seat conditioner):

All around the city, we observed a lot of unused L shaped brackets on places where an air conditioning unit used to be installed. We decided to exploit them to install a seat. The seat and the backrest leaned on the L squares mounted on the facade of the buildings. For the exhibition, we installed L brackets to set-up one chair and we showed four photographs of one of us sitting on it. These self-portraits served as a witnesses to the performances in the street as well as an opportunity for the public to see the artists enjoying the devices as they contemplate the city from a novel point of view.

4 – Compas (compass):

We used eight wood sticks of different lengths with a hole drilled on one side and a wax crayon attached to the other. In the street, we looked for unused screws coming out of the walls to hang them. These screws became center points to draw curves playing with the restrictions imposed by the position of the screw, the size of the stick and the surrounding elements. Inside the gallery, we reproduced a real situation that we observed in the street formed by eight screws and used the sticks to draw lines on one of the gallery walls. We made eight small scale drawings on paper that serve as a proof of the completion of the mural.

Extras:

Additional actions we did during the preparation of the show. Experimentations that we didn’t show in the exhibition but that were part of the process.

Pictures of the show:

Varianti

Ritmo
Via Grotte Bianche 62, Catania, Italy
June 9th – August 31st 2014

MOMO & Eltono

Inspired by the nearby market and particularly its cleaning activity, we designed 6 shapes and made up a device to generate random compositions with them. By shaking the device, we generated and documented hundreds of compositions; 52 were chosen, reproduced as collages and framed.