Sala de Proyectos
3 de febrero – 18 de abril, 2015

In 2013 two physics professors at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, Nima Arkani-Hamed and Jacob Bourjaily, were making notes of certain calculations through a positive Grassmannian on the interaction between elementary particles. At a certain moment their notes led to an unusual geometric shape in which theoretically the total amplitude of the physical processes governing the behavior of all matter in the universe was represented. They called this shape Amplituhedron. In the words of the physicists, “this discovery challenges the notion that time and space are critical components of reality; Furthermore, this figure suggests that all three-dimensional representation that we know as reality is actually a two-dimensional projection of a mathematical substrate. Those notes held to the notion that the physical universe seems to belong only to mathematical principles.

Technological and scientific advances mark the way society accepts reality. At the same time, these advances have a direct bearing on the philosophical, social and political concepts that affect the artistic production of the time. Almudena Lobera’s solo exhibition A particular claim to truth is no exception. In this show, Lobera makes an exhaustive study on the relevance of geometric and mathematical thinking to examine the many possible perceptions that are generated about the world around us. Simultaneously, she reflects on knowledge as a mental representation that shapes reality.

A particular claim to truth is configured through shapes and figures of random, imperceptible and uncontrollable origin in dialogue with analytical systems and procedures, which pose structures of perception and representation not only in relation to various scientific theories (past and present) but also to systems of thought that exercise power in contemporary social behavior. And as if it were an amplituhedron, the exhibition poetically addresses the idea of representing the two-dimensional plane in the three-dimensional and vice versa; thus amplifying the underlying geometrical reality (formal and virtual) in which the infinitely expanding physical world unfolds.

The works presented here are the fruit of Lobera’s stay at the Royal Academy of Spain in Rome, a context that has profoundly influenced her research and production. The artist reaffirms the concepts of the great Italian art of the past that had brought a revolution in the history of representation and, in turn, she reflects and analyzes translations of image perception from the Renaissance to the present technological era.

–Bernardo Sopelana

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