Ernesto Caivano

These delicate ink drawings are by Madrid-born artist Ernesto Caivano, who currently resides in New York. Based on a story that Caivano is in the process of writing, After the Woods, they apparently depict scenes from what the White Cube gallery describes as

an ambitious narrative based on lovers’ courtship, separation, retribution and eventual evolution. Varying in format and scale from scroll-like panoramas to small detailed studies, Caivano drawing’s portray a timeless tale of Polygon and Versus who were torn apart upon the consummation of their union and transported into the woods, signifying an alternate reality and universe. Through time, Versus, clad in a knight’s armour grows congruent with his natural habitat while the dress Polygon wears transforms into a tardis representing advancement of intelligence and technological development. As João Ribas further describes: ‘A syncretist amalgam of folklore, fairytale, and scientific speculation, Caivano’s narrative serves as a search for meaning lost in our own abundance of information’.

It doesn't appear to be Caivano's intention to create a complete and coherent fantasy tale (he claims he doesn't yet know how the story will end), but something more fragmentary and ambiguous. This article at Frieze points out that in this case "a complex narrative seems to work best when lurking in the background as a generative tool, not as a structure on which to hang the work. Caivano uses it in both ways. At times his tale appears perfectly assembled, lacking the fragile vulnerability of his star-crossed protagonists. At other times it appears so broad or veiled as to disallow comparative evaluations." Further information can be found at White Cube, and the Richard Heller Gallery has many more images.