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Manuel Merida, Venezuelan artist, born in 1939, moved to Paris in the 1980s. Trained at the School of Fine Arts in Valencia, Venezuela, he became one of the best representatives of the "informalist" trend. and the "gestural art" of his country. He works in the studio of Carlos Cruz Diez and practices in parallel the job of scenographer for theater, decorator for cinema and advertising designer for Christian Dior, Guerlain, Cartier, Chanel, etc.
Manuel Merida is one of the South American kinetic artists of the second generation. Through his work, the artist wants to avoid proposing a fixed and unique vision, playing with the variations of the colored matter (pigments, sand, coal powder, wood particles, painted metal, etc.) contained in his monochrome.
The works are always mobile. Of various shapes, sizes and colors, they are composed of boxes of square or circular shapes, protected by a glass plate, rotating around a central axis. They rotate abruptly by the hand of the spectator. The others, activated by an engine, move slowly.
Each movement generates a new unexpected monochrome. Organic matter is inverted creating forms renewed to infinity. Thus, Manuel Mérida uses the potentialities of chance to create a work in perpetual transformation. The images formed by the rotating material provide a soothing effect on the viewer watching them.
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Espace Meyer Zafra is pleased to present Installation - Proposition - Installation, the fifth solo exhibition by French-Venezuelan artist Manuel Mérida, a major figure in South American contemporary abstraction. From May 15 to June 19, 2025, the exhibition will feature projects, installations, and a monumental model.
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Far from limiting himself to his famous monochrome circular works, Manuel Mérida has chosen to present the exhibition Installation - Proposition - Installation, including four new installations, conceived by Manuel Mérida in his studio in 2024 and 2025. These monumental pieces, created as immersive environments, extend his explorations of time, matter, and formal instability. White Circle Installation, Usuyuki, Bermuda Blue Installation, and Cubic Yellow Installation are presented alongside a collection of photographs and videos by French artist Joël Laiter.
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At the center of this exhibition is the model entitled Usuyuki Chantier - Place Igor Sravinsky / Centre Pompidou. For several years, artist Manuel Mérida has wanted to occupy Place Igor Stravinsky, a stone’s throw from the Centre Pompidou, with a monumental installation inspired by his Usuyuki series, begun in 1988. While the Centre Pompidou will be closing its doors for five years of renovations, this project, conceived in 2015, involves bringing art out of its walls and placing it back in the heart of the city. Conceived as a democratic gesture, this ephemeral work is a continuation of the street art works that already define the identity of the place, without ever altering them. By opening this space to other artists, it invites a collective reflection on the place of art in our cities. Usuyuki Stravinsky would thus become a bridge between urban memory, contemporary creation, and civic sharing.
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“Unlike Soto or Cruz-Diez, Mérida was not interested in the process of dematerialization or optical illusions based on the interaction of light and vibrations; rather, he was keen to work with concrete and tangible elements and, above all, wished to emphasize their materiality. In this context, his work in advertising and as a set designer proved to be a significant investment in his career, as they provided the artist with a comprehensive new set of technical and practical skills, a deep understanding of materials, mechanics, and, above all, a deeply rooted sense of space and architecture, which would remain key to Mérida’s large-scale installations to this day.” - Valentina Locatelli
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Manuel Mérida: Installation - Proposition - Installation
Past viewing_room
