JOSE DÁVILA
THE POGGENDORF PHENOMENON
ENTRANCE OF CENTRO INTERNAZIONALE DI SCULTURA, PECCIA, SWITZERLAND4 MAY 2021 – OCTOBER 2021
THE POGGENDORF PHENOMENON is the title of this series of sculptures and refers to an illusion discovered by the German physicist Johann Christian Poggendorff. It proposes that by superimposing a rectangle on a set of inclined linear segments, the continuation of these lines begins to blur in the viewer’s vision. This sense of deception is replicated in Dávila’s sculptures, depending on the angle of view, the position of the objects seems to fluctuate, only to return to its original position. Another important aspect found in these works is the impulse of drawing which is a persistent subtext in much of Dávila’s sculptural work. In the case of THE POGGENDORF PHENOMENON, it is possible to appreciate that the free disposition of the objects in the space is reminiscent of how forms find a certain order on paper. From a frontal view, the edges of the rectangular volumes seem to sketch inclined axes on the empty space. The complex relationship of weights and counterweights seems to recede to the background to reveal a series of slanting strokes, different configurations, and rhythms that emerge without being tied to a fixed point of view.
Commissioned by Centro Internazionale di Scultura.
THE POGGENDORF PHENOMENON, 2021Marble and boulders
175.5 x 286.5 x 46 cm
© Courtesy of the artist and Centro Internazionale di Scultura, Peccia
© Images Thierry B. Burgherr