M Fine Arts is pleased to present an online exhibition of Francisco Sepulveda’s work titled: La nuit au bout du monde. Roughly translating to “night at world’s end,” La nuit au bout du monde features seven unique paintings whose mystery and surrealist intrigue truly earn the show its name. It seemed only fitting to exhibit this show in cyberspace, as each painting feels like a dreamscape itself, telling otherworldly stories of man, flora, and fauna in colorful exuberance.
Using the online platform, Artland, we’ve created an intimate, white-cube-style gallery in virtual reality. Participants can “walk” through the gallery space by clicking on different parts of the room, and see the paintings reproduced to scale on the walls. To learn more about each work, you can click on the painting directly, and see its title, size, materials, and pricing information all from the comfort of your living room couch. You can sign the virtual guestbook, and even peer through the skylight on the gallery’s ceiling! Even when exhibited in a two-dimensional space, the pieces still work in conversation with one another and create a visual impact.
Born and raised in Chile, Sepulveda now lives and works in France, and regularly displays in galleries around the world including Switzerland, Germany, and the United States. Clearly an artist of global breadth, his work maintains its resonance in a gallery with a potentially global reach. Here are some of our favorite works from the show.
La nuit au bout du monde will be on view in the VR gallery through August 31. Check it out here.
The wedding, Acrylic on Canvas , 59 x 59 in
This work, The Wedding, combines humor, a vibrant palette, and a dynamic composition to tell its eccentric story. In the work, a young man holding flowers sails in a gondola alongside his hybrid horse-tree companion. Though unclear if the beast is to be the boy’s bride, or is merely accompanying him to the altar, either narrative is a compellingly peculiar tale typical of Sepulveda’s oeuvre. The deft flattening of space produces large swaths of color that both contribute to the composition’s dynamism and its overall chimerical otherworldliness.
The commitment, Acrylic on Canvas , 39.25 x 27.5 in
Another favorite, titled The Commitment also presents the viewer with a delightfully puzzling narrative. A young woman dangles lithely from a tree; her bright red dress creating a stark contrast against the midnight blue sky. In her grasp, she holds a large turquoise bird, which dons a yellow crown. Despite her precarious position, the girl’s gaze is impassive, even tranquil. Like The Wedding, Sepulveda does not impart his viewers with any more context and leaves the nature of the girl’s commitment up to our interpretation. We can see some of the artist’s South American influences in the energetic textures and patterns of the girl’s dress and the landscape behind her. The forms’ flatness and colorful vitality somewhat recall quilting, while still adhering to surrealistic aesthetics.
Critics have referred to his body of work as “the Sepulveda Galaxy.” Each canvas is its own planet, orbiting within his celestial imagined reality. Come see for yourself and experience them in virtual reality.
Text by Alexandra Cirelli