Jorge Satorre: Ria

In February 2025, the Museo Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo will unveil Spain’s first institutional solo exhibition dedicated to Jorge Satorre (1979 Mexico City. Lives between Bilbao and Mexico City). Satorre’s artistic practice delves into unmapped and “minor” histories, whether attending to the intangible heritage of traditions and the oral transmission of stories, or by engaging in more formal explorations of traditional craft production methods, their environments, stories and labourers.

Initially drawn to a career as an editorial illustrator, Satorre’s artistic research has evolved to encompass a fascination with experimenting with the limits of various disciplines associated with drawing. Yet his current artistic identity increasingly revolves around sculptural endeavours that engage in dialogue with the diverse contexts in which his work is conceived and displayed. Moreover, his recent projects frequently involve acts of transformation and subversion, stemming from elemental actions such as moulding, stamping, forging, casting or breaking – processes applied to materials that he regards as intrinsic components of a process towards progressively moving away from a place where ideas originate. Just as hands and tools intertwine in Satorre’s work, so too do the intimate with the industrial, the functional with misuse, anecdotes with archetypes, and remembered events with the imaginary.

The exhibition “Ria” will present Satorre’s production from 2013 to 2025, representing a phase he understands by his endeavour to calibrate the distance between the forms and references that inform his work. This period has also involved a certain introspection leading him to consider how personal experience relates to a broader cultural, political, or social contexts. Thus, he employs a nuanced interplay of scales, oscillating between the specific and the general, proximity and distance, and inner realm versus public display.

The artist’s first monograph will be released in conjunction with the exhibition, featuring a new essay by Daniel Garza Usabiaga (Independent curator, Mexico City) and a conversation between the artist and Latitudes, the exhibition's curators. This bilingual Spanish-English edition will be structured around Satorre’s solo exhibitions of the last fifteen years, arranged in reverse chronological order. The book will be designed by the artist and publisher Gabriel Pericàs in collaboration with Satorre, and co-published by Museo CA2M and Caniche Editorial.

“Ria” will occupy the museum’s second floor and run concurrently with exhibitions dedicated to Carlos Rodríguez-Méndez and to the CA2M Collection curated by the artist David Bestué. It will also coincide with various events in the city surrounding the 44th edition of the ARCOmadrid art fair (5–9 March 2025).