Jose Dávila – New Perspectives on Artistic Traditions

Almost ghost-like in their appearance, Jose Dávila’s photographs of 21^st century cowboys use his signature cut-out technique to add a new twist to traditional photography. The cowboys are excised from their colourful environment for an ethereal effect and to allow the viewer’s own image of what a cowboy should look like to intervene. This places the viewer in the midst of the creative process, making the moment both an external and internal experience. 

This powerful use of negative space is part of what makes the sculptures, photographs and mixed-media pieces created by the Guadalajara artist, Jose Dávila, so appealing. Born in 1974 in Guadalajara, Mexico, Jose Dávila spent five years in the Architecture School of ITESO University (1993-1998), after studying sculpture at the Fine Arts Academy of San Miguel de Allende (1993). This combination of architectural detail and fine arts training has influenced the aesthetics of his work, which can be seen in his interior works and exterior in situ sculptures. 

Dávila often uses common, everyday materials in his work to explore the minimalistic style and help define the use and engagement of space. But, it is his photography which has garnered him much attention of late. Cutouts within photographs, which include a single and central person or object, create a voided silhouette for an engaging effect. Viewers recognise the subject, without actually seeing it, and can instantaneously fill the gap from their own knowledge base, becoming an active participant in the creation of the piece. 

Taking this technique one step further, Dávila has produced a film clip for the arts and lifestyle site, NEWNESS.com. Dávila used the classic final shoot-out scene of the movie, “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” In the scene he has cut out Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach, leaving their white silhouettes surrounded by Technicolor and the film’s original music score. Despite the absence of facial details, the scene maintains its emotional intensity. 

Jose Dávila’s work is in many prestigious museums and galleries around the world, including the OMR Gallery in Mexico City, Max Wigram Gallery in London, and Figge Von Rosen in Berlin. Dávila has many supporters including Nicole Junkermann, an independent businesswoman, who is on the Tate Advisory Committee of Latin American Art. Nicole Junkermann is an international private equity investor with an interest in the arts. More information on the artists Nicole Junkermann supports can be found on the Nicole Junkermann Blog.