Juan Davila

The Moral Meaning of Wilderness

The QCA gallery situated at Griffith University Southbank is currently playing host to one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists Juan Davila. The works on display have been a widely interpreted as a true representation of Davila’s personal beliefs and style that have evidently been influenced by contemporary culture. In this exhibition appropriately entitled “Moral Meaning of Wilderness”, Davila discourses modern society’s wavering link to nature and its increasing disintegration. Also noted is Davila’s evocative illustrations are his views and beliefs on the consumerist nature now quite prevalent in today’s world, which can be also said to be one of the most major influences on any contemporary artist. The important aspects to remember about Davila’s work are how he makes the subtle connection between nature and today’s morality.

The Gallery itself consists of 5 very large flat white exhibiting walls, plain polished concrete floor throughout and very high ceilings to create a sense of openness. The space in my view is very clinical in that it creates a sense of cleanliness, which is paramount in any contemporary exhibition of this nature so the focus is maintained towards to exhibiting art work. The space can also be seen as versatile, due to large amount of room which can facilitate ambitious installations and additional wall space for numerous artists to exhibit in one show.

The exhibition, “Moral Meaning of Wilderness” provides the viewer with a lot of space to grasp each individual work.  Comprising of over 13 large works of art, the exhibition certainly illustrates the diversity of Davila’s style and ability.  All 13 pieces are created with an oil medium which tends to support Davila’s impression on his landscapes and subjects as oil colours have a tendency to be more vibrant and luminous. The relatively small yet visible brush strokes and subject of his paintings lead to me believe his influence within this series of works lies in Impressionism. Not limiting Davila’s works of art to one ‘ism’ I think another interesting fact is his connection with nature and it’s landscape.  In some cases Davila’s works portray a deep connection with Romanticism, which is perfectly illustrated in one of Davila’s works titled “A Man Renounces Love”.

 “The painting comprises of a man sitting on the ground in a clearing.  He is in front of a camp fire and looking at someone or something that is out of the frame to our left hand side, his arm outstretched, as if in this moment of quite repose he is grasping towards something unknown. His other hand rests quietly on his knee. He is dressed in blue work pants and sharply polished shoes, but wearing no shirt. Neither elderly, nor young, history is carried with him, and as we are watching him in this mystical moment, a turning in the rendition of his soul”.

Briggs, K.,  Juan Davila – The Moral Meaning of Wilderness, 2010

Simply put the “man in the painting” situated amongst nature, “a landscape” certainly evokes a sense of a spiritual connection with the subject’s surroundings which support the idea that Davila’s inspiration whether consciously conceived or not lie in Romanticism. Upon further interpretation the link between the “man in the painting” and his environment can also have the viewer asking why. Why is the “man in the painting” simply sitting in what seems to be an awkward position, seemingly juxtaposed into scene where he does not belong. Which brings to my final thought that Davila’s other influences also lie in Surrealism.

Overall the exhibition was definitely a positive experience. Previous to visiting the gallery I was not aware of Juan Davila’s and his work, and can safely say it had impact on the way I approach landscape paintings. Regardless of whether there are other factors contributing to the painting in works of this nature, there can always be a conscious message that can be taken from viewing such landscape works.  The thing I enjoyed most about the Davila’s exhibition “The Moral Meaning of Wilderness” was the two part series “A Man Renounces Love” involving two very large oil canvasses which depicted the exact same scene previously described. The first painting upon first glance was realistic and well proportioned, but the second painting had virtually no form what so ever, a complete abstract interpretation of the first painting, which I found quite enjoyable to look at.

David Don