Co-curated by CO,MA, Ana Pérez Escoto, and Joseph del Pesco, PEANA gallery presented A Stubborn Man and a Hermit Walk into a Bar in February 2024. This exhibition, set in the historic Casa-Estudio Nancarrow designed by O’Gorman in the late 1940s, features 24 artists whose works engage with the humanistic ideals of the house. The exhibit is arranged to lead visitors through various areas, highlighting O’Gorman’s architectural solutions for Nancarrow, including a shaded terrace, a green kitchen, a welcoming room, a two-story library, a workshop, and a studio. The artists’ pieces reflect on Nancarrow’s work and creative process, emphasizing art’s enduring impact and potential for social change.
In the house where Nancarrow and O’Gorman once engaged in lengthy discussions about the future of humanity and the limits of its cultural evolution, today a selection of artists is presented offering different ways to approach our present and an unusual vision of the future.
The 24 artists invited to the exhibition A Stubborn and a Hermit Walk into a Bar are surrounded by the ghosts that inhabit the house, spirits that remind us that one may surrender and give up, but artistic production remains the ultimate hope for human endeavors and the essence of humanity. As intangible as the effects of art may seem, a space like this must be remembered and recognized as a vivid example of the transformative agency that art possesses. In the words of German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht, “Art is not a mirror to reflect reality, but a hammer to shape it.”
This exhibition revolves around the late but endearing friendship between composer Conlon Nancarrow (1912-1997) and architect Juan O’Gorman (1905-1982). Sunday afternoons became the dialogue space for these two friends who gradually concluded that aligning with art is to accept that, even after giving up, there is hope for humanity. These ideas materialized in a home built by O’Gorman for Nancarrow in 1950. In addition to meeting the basic requirements for his composer friend, such as adhering to a humanistic vision, elevating the space for musical creation, and honoring his fondness for literature, O’Gorman took the opportunity to explore a more abstract muralism, transitioning from function to meaning.
Disillusioned by the limited social impact achieved from the trenches of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), Conlon Nancarrow, exiled from his native United States, isolated himself in his studio in Mexico City. Manifesting his most ambitious creations on rolls of prepared piano, he distanced himself from interpretative metrics imposed by the human hand on instruments. He sought to master the machine, giving it unknown instructions. Meanwhile, Juan O’Gorman, stirred by a sense of betrayal upon realizing that a corrupt state benefited from his buildings rather than their inhabitants, stepped away from architecture for a decade to focus on painting and muralism. Through these practices, he not only presented his political dissatisfaction but also his existential inquiries.
Nancarrow’s eccentric and pioneering compositions exemplify that experimentation lies not in the tool used but in the artist’s vision in employing that tool. It is not merely about exploring the capabilities of the machine but challenging it with purpose. Nancarrow, by boldly introducing dissonance, irreversibly altered the course of music. It is in these dissonant narratives that the exhibition seeks to find itself, emphasizing the visual, sonic, sculptural, and conceptual transformation that arises when conventional expectations are challenged.
The artists articulate hidden truths. Art presents timeless lessons, but art does not speak for itself; it asks the spectator to begin asking questions. Let’s enter the bar and propose some answers.
Exhibition curated by CO,MA, PEANA and Joseph del Pesco.
Special thanks to Mako Nancarrow and Dr. Yoko Suguira for opening the doors to their house. To ENO Foundation and Adriana Sandoval for their research on Conlon Nancarrow and Juan O’Gorman. To our collaborators and team, Ana Pérez, Mercedes Gómez, Joseph del Pesco, Andrea Paasch, Allegra Cordero di Montezemolo, Aldo Arillo, and Andrea Fernández.
Thank you to all the collaborating galleries, Clearing, GAGA, Labor, Lodos, and Magenta Plains. To our sponsors Mezcal Amaras, Amanda Manda, Rosadito, Xpan, Topo Chico, and the Invited program of Feria Material. And thank you to the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant for their support for Lenka Clayton & Phillip Andrew Lewis’ artwork.
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