Spanish artist Luis Urculo examines the methods and physical act of drawing reinterpreted through crochet, wood, glass and plastic, blending with his artwork the experiences and techniques from his background in architecture and design in “Jet Lag: New Works” his solo show at The Popular Workshop.

Urculo’s choice of mediums is vast, and the term ‘drawing’ is cleverly left ambiguous to explore many mediums and approaches. With Urculo’s architectural background, the various modes of drawing have a multifaceted attitude that create rich, multiple layers of meaning.  Knitted works of a bridge, skull, and words and phrases, and a cut-out collection of various types of daggers all maintain the simple style and organic execution, successfully retaining designs and characteristics analogous to hand-writ works.

Urculo continues his draftsmanship onto translucent materials like glass and clear balloons, that like the knitting cleverly isolate the subject from any other distractions to focus on the method. The two colors he uses are painted on opposite sides of the glass, exploring depth in two dimensional works. The artist says these techniques also refer to commercial sign paintings he sees slowly disappearing on the windows of Madrid’s older establishments, bars and brasseries. Developing a work of small and indefinite architecture in an opened format, Urculo draws a series of ambiguous, generalized buildings; the only differentiation is the logo above them.  Urculo says of his works, “I no longer know what architecture is and what an architect should do.” With this admission, Luis’ work  thrives, investigating the periphery of architecture, and its processes and approaches that can be manipulated and translated into other areas of art, creating novel subject matter, experiences and expectations.

“Jet Lag: New Works” by Luis Urculo is at Popular Workshop January 20 – February 24