Lodovico Corsini presents a solo show of Mexican artist Javier Barrios, comprising a large-scale sculpture and a series of watercolour paintings. This selection of works brings together recent and new productions and bears witness to Barrios’ idiosyncratic artistic practice and unique visual language.

The sculpture, inspired by 19th-century Wardian cases used to transport plants, is made from Japanese paper and depicts anthropomorphic flowers in a ‘danse macabre’ with skeletons, critiquing colonial exploitation of plant life.

Accompanying the sculpture are watercolour paintings which portray a chaotic struggle between ambiguous creatures. Drawing from pre-Hispanic Mexican imagery, Orozco’s murals, and Buddhist hell scrolls, Barrios explores the tensions between humanity and nature in a cosmic, rebirth-driven narrative.

Javier Barrios (b. 1989, Guadalajara, Mexico) lives and works in Mexico City. He has presented solo exhibitions at the Art and Culture Center, Hollywood; Fundación Calosa, Mexico City; Museo de la Ciudad de Querétaro, Mexico; Pequod Co., Mexico City; Páramo, Guadalajara; and Clearing Brussels.