Albarrán Cabrera: The Radiance of Paradise

About

Viewing the world through philosophical eyes, the work of Albarrán Cabrera explores ideas of memory, time, metaphysics, and cosmology, mirrored through a diverse array of printmaking techniques. Where earlier bodies of work framed inquiries around the memories, identity and perspective of humans, the duo’s most recent portfolio “Nyx” centers the Earth as protagonist; “The only home we’ve ever known” as Sagan stated. Their new photographs propose geologic and organic structures as a form of remembering. An ever-balancing system of energy that retains detailed records of explosive shifts and incomprehensibly tedious transformations.

As before, form follows function in Albarrán Cabrera’s new work. Using noble metals of platinum, palladium and gold in the printmaking process for the majority of the portfolio further grounds the work in an elemental and terrestrial context, while avoiding an overt display of metallic grandeur. Instead, the subtle scale and materiality of their prints become quiet windows of contemplation. Their vivid color works, glowing from within by a core of gold leaf, celebrate a  sublime life-force emanating from the natural world. 

A persistent visual paradox surprises the viewer in many of the prints on display. Landscapes that at first glance seem consistent with the laws of physics, upon further consideration, reveal areas of doubt, one that through their alchemical processes, is transformed into wonder. The viewer is left to consider our limited sensory data and how that may shape our map of the world.