CERRILLO JOSE LEON

MEXICO [1976]

Working with simple geometric systems, José León Cerrillo deconstructs the legacies of modernist design, architecture, and art, which are particularly palpable in Mexico City where he lives. Two types of work characterize Cerrillo’s oeuvre: large metal forms, which act as framing devices for exhibition spaces, and glass panels layered with geometric figures. For the artist, these symbols and shapes allude to the kinds of modernist vocabularies advocated by Russian constructivism and the Bauhaus school, two movements notable for their utopian aspirations. In Cerrillo’s handling, the meaningless juxtaposition of forms and symbols suggests the failure of modernism and highlight its status as a purely formal language.