Artists

Augusto Albor

Press release

In his 1936 essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," German cultural critic Walter Benjamin describes the "aura" —the unique presence that a work of art possesses— as a symbol of authenticity, the soul of an art object in the era of mass reproduction. Filipino artist Augusto ‘Gus’ Albor, known for his over 50-year trajectory in minimal non-objectivism, uses this concept to explore the transcendent qualities of abstraction in his new solo show at Michael Janssen.

Aurae gathers a series of the artist’s latest paintings, inspired by his interest in the metaphysical. A true disciple of meditation in transit, Gus Albor channels his artistic intuition into distilled mental, emotional, and spiritual energy fields that shape the distinctive atmospheres emanating from the artworks. He encircles a vast realm of psychic and experimental territory, transforming it into a substantial yet ethereal minimalist framework. The refined formalism of his sculptural paintings is characterized by the utmost subtlety; soft transitions, and muted monochromatic harmonies are bathed in an intangible ethos of enigma, mystery, myth, and ritual.