“Palinodia” is Jerónimo Elespe's (Madrid, 1975) second and most recent exhibition at LABOR. The show takes its name from the Classic lyrical genre in which the author retracts something previously said. Giving rise to a possible contradiction, doubt, or correction, palinodes are a space of change in which the viewer becomes a participant in the questioning of the creative process. In Elespe's case, this change is expressed in vertical paintings and larger-than-usual pieces on paper, contrasted with works of a smaller, intimate scale, as well as an explosion of color rarely seen before in the artist’s work.
Alas, Elespe's palinodes remain his own works and share the characteristics that make his entire ouvre identifiable and unique. Over a slow proccess that acompasses a group of works, his paintings are formed through months and even years by multiple layers of color that have been added, removed, diluted, or partially or completely covered. The result, palimpsests that construct a narrative where all the elements refer to the artist's personal and intimate experience.
The emphasis on process, materiality, and different visual languages allows Elespe to carry out long creative processes within which several works co-exist. Similarly, through the self archaeologies that are his paintings, Jerónimo Elespe offers us a critique of the linear conception of time and a reflection on the complexity of the living experience. From odes to palinodes, the artist dialectically arrives at his aesthetic and creative maturity leaving a visual trace for us to follow.