Page 24 - The Future Belongs to No One. Eugenio Ampudia

I hold Ampudia to be a person who waits for a second before starting. I don’t know if he really is, but we’re each responsible for our own perceptions. I also hold him to be someone with a capacity for irony who, politely and courteously, is capable of taking anything apart and even getting us to thank him. Whenever we’ve coincided – not very often – I’ve had the feeling that it was important to listen to him and be very attentive to how he observed his surroundings. A man with a particular gaze, supposedly distant but completely absorbed and concerned. Waiting for a second before starting could be an indication of self-control, also of the ability to be attentive in order to interpret a particular situation. Being open, seeking information, seeking to understand in order to later appear. Ampudia’s art also has something of this attitude: moments that appear a few seconds later, owing to confusion or the disruption of normality. From a laptop that is impossible to use as it is made of stone, to being a sculpture and artwork. The function of an item to be admired continues and the progression to sculpture – perfect, classical – turns the consumer object into something mistaken. But the first impression is that it’s simply a computer. Our society’s fascination with technology, the latest product, the new, the new. Admiring and gazing. And as far as the clouds, that which continues to generate random moments in our control-based society.Several of Eugenio Ampudia’s works might initially go unnoticed. They’re minimal gestures, but gesturesWorkstation, 2012 Alabaster sculpture 25 x 35 x 32 cm24 | EUGENIO AMPUDIA. THE FUTURE BELONGS TO NO ONE YET