In a practice spanning nearly two decades, Jose Dávila has created an expressive body of work that explores the visual tropes and iconic symbols of art, architecture, and urban design. Initially trained as an architect and self-educated as a visual artist, Dávila creates sculptures, installations and photographic works that simultaneously emulate, critique, and pay homage to 20th-century avant-garde art and architecture, referencing artists and architects from Luis Barragán to Josef Albers and Donald Judd. Humor and melancholy co-mingle in works that often explore the tension between industrial and organic materials and the forces of compression and balance. This monograph assesses the full scope of Dávila's practice in all media for the first time, and includes texts attesting to the historical and social dimensions of Dávila's art. Essays address the artist's early pieces, his exercises on balance, sculpture, graphics and paintings, and his works in public space.
