Zimbabue (amarillo) 2014

José Dávila made this leaning structure called Zimbabue in yellow – but when? How? It’s this big black form bisected by a yellow line – almost like a minimalist sailboat, if sailboats leaned over that much. I love the way it makes you re-imagine the architecture of the gallery. It could almost be a prop holding up the walls, stopping them from falling on you. I like to imagine Dávila wrestling with the materials, trying to get it to stand just so. Was it an act of chance, engineering, or intuition? There is a certain absurdity to its physical presence, contrasting the clean lines of minimalism with the precarious balance of reality. He is in dialogue with other artists, like Richard Serra and Barnett Newman, who were also interested in how artworks and viewers occupy space. It’s not just about looking, it’s about sensing. And that’s what art is about, right?