Per: GFDK – Galeri 100 Kubik

*Under the title “Heroes”, 100 Kubik presents works by the artist Jordi Urbón (1962, Puigcerdà). The artist is the winner of 100 Kubik’s 4th Biennial Competition. The exhibition takes place as part of the Photoszene Festival 2014.

Jordi Urbón creates fictional worlds in his computer-generated images, enriching them with small narratives. The figures in his images find themselves in surreal, dreamlike places that seem to emerge from their subconscious and touch upon the deepest emotions of human existence.

He often portrays himself and appears as the protagonist of his works, sometimes as a hero and at other times as a comical goose herder. In his images, he reflects with considerable irony and humour on the role of the artist and of art, introducing references to art within these newly created worlds as a means of expanding reality.

In his series “Heroes”, Jordi Urbón presents these characters in a way that differs from what we might expect. They seem to have been stripped of their “heroism” and possess something foolish, even downright ridiculous.

Jordi Urbón’s heroes are heroes of everyday life, portrayed from a private and domestic perspective: ironing, hanging out laundry and cleaning. They are heroes who have doubts and problems, but who conceal them from the world in order to live up to the role they are expected to play.

In his images, Urbón takes a knowing look behind the scenes and shows us that heroes, too, can be ordinary people.

Traditional artistic resources such as painting remain present and do not disappear entirely from his works, but they are partly replaced by new artistic strategies, media and working methods. To create his digital paintings, the artist uses a variety of techniques, including photography, drawing, painting and digital textures.

Jordi Urbón’s images are intended not only to be seen, but also to be understood and read.

Freunde der Kunst

Through his works, Urbón seeks to activate and awaken different levels of consciousness in the viewer. He also encourages viewers to contribute their own ideas to the works and to question and break away from established perceptions.

In a poetic manner and through powerful images, Urbón illustrates the themes that concern him and, upon closer observation, opens up new worlds filled with allusions and metaphors, charged with a wide variety of meanings.