Renowned Spanish artist Isaac Cordal will be in London on May 26 to launch his three-day show. A book showing hundreds of images of Cordal’s work, entitled ‘Cement Eclipses’ published by CarpetBombingCulture, will be launched on May 26 at the dedicated show which will take place at the Pure Evil Gallery, 108 Leonard Street, London EC2A.
It will be the first time that many of the cement sculptures will have been seen and it’s the first time that these images have been seen together in book form.
Cordal’s sculptures take the form of little people fashioned from concrete and placed in ‘real’ situations. They are like little magical gifts to the public that only a few lucky people will see and love but so many more will have missed. They can be found all over the world - perhaps in gutters, on walls, on street signs, on top of bus shelters. What really makes these pieces of art magical is their placement. They express something vulnerable but deeply engaging. Left to fend for themselves you almost want to protect them in some way, or perhaps communicate with them.
Of course, the 17cm high sculptures of people in everyday poses are not real, but the scenes in Cement Eclipses are somewhat poignant. Cordal manages to capture a lot of emotion in his vignettes, in spite of their lack of detail or colour. He is sympathetic toward his little people and we empathise with their situations, their leisure time, their waiting for buses and their more tragic moments such as accidental death, suicide or family funerals.
Cement Eclipses is the first time his images have been shown together in one book dedicated to his work. Many images have never been seen before.
Cement Eclipses from Isaac Cordal. Published by CarpetBombingCulture
Price: £12.95
Hardback, full colour. ISBN 9780955912184
Publication date: May 2011
Available from: www.carpetbombingculture.co.uk
There are also special edition copies of the book available complete with an original cement sculpture – go to www.carpetbombingculture.co.uk
