Micrographia

20.02.13 – 18.03.13

 María García-Ibáñez

María García-Ibáñez, a highly sought after emerging artist from Mexico, returns to Hong Kong for her second solo exhibition in Asia.

Micrographia takes its name from the 1665 book by scientist and artist, Robert Hooke. A compilation of his own illustrations of microscopic observations of natural elements such as snow, ice and fossils brought a wealth of scientific data but also opened a fantastic miniature world to the public. Its magnificent illustrations were far more than careful observations, this book was one of the first fruits of science to strike deep into the non-scientific imagination. Hook revolutionised a new way of “seeing things”. Through elegant drawings on paper, Maria searches, as Hooke did, a different perspective in the understanding of our environment, of “seeing” the elements and structures that surround us. Drawings and tri-dimensional forms, maquetes, bodies, membranes, all represent structures that both multiply and are dissected through the microscope of their own graphic language and defy our perception of scale and matter.

Maria Garcia-Ibanez, originally from Spain, currently works in Mexico. Her art displays a simplicity of lines, purity and elegance that almost betrays the deep discourse and moral dilemmas that are embodied in her work. Fascinated with  anatomical constructions and organic forms she buries herself deeply in understanding underlying structures, cells, bones, tissue, veins, anatomical and geographical maps.  She questions them, dissects them and then reconstructs their essence and layers with a deeply feminine aesthetic style.

Maria’s works reflect a marriage, a reconciliation between science and aesthetics, contemporary digital techniques and traditional craftsmanship, the views of the old and the ‘new’ worlds, the anatomical construction of the human body and its soul, feminine strength and vulnerability. She has participated in a number of cultural projects and has held solo and group exhibitions primarily in Madrid and Mexico. As a young artist, she has been recognised and broadly supported with several production grants including the residence grant for creators from Ibero-America supported by the main Cultural Councils and Foreign Affairs ministries of Spain and Mexico.