Y Gallery is pleased to present El Fin, a two person exhibition of new work by Peruvian artist Miguel Aguirre and Swiss artist Christoph Draeger, curated by Cecilia Jurado. The end comes. It is inevitable. It is a fact. The catastrophe starts. And then, born on the wings of the debacle, something unexpected is welcomed. In Spanish, “El Fin” means “The End” but it is also the “the focal point of an idea, its planned consequence” when one is determined to take something far away from its point of origin to its furthest limit.

Christoph Draeger has been working rigorously for years with different aspects of catastrophe: building mockups of destroyed towns, staging moments of terror, and focusing on locations of real disasters such as Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Tlatelolco. For “El Fin”, using installation, photography and film stills, Draeger brings to Y Gallery a new group of work that emphasizes his strong sense of irony and sensibility to present life’s darkness in a more poetical form. Draeger leads us to “the end” through death and loss of communication.

Miguel Aguirre, a Peruvian artist working in Barcelona, has been using the modality of painting throughout his career. Having begun with large scale canvases and now, for “El Fin”, using miniature paintings, Aguirre has shown an amazing control over the medium, making everything he paints look incredibly beautiful. For the last 3 years, Aguirre has addressed episodes of terror in our history through various mass media representations (TV, cinema, newspapers). Focusing on iconic images of powerful characters involved in wars and massacres, Aguirre presents a new set of paintings based directly on international news items such as the portrait of the recently rescued Ingrid Betancourt and a faux heroic homage to Chilean Army General Pinochet.

While Draeger digs into our own graveside fears, Aguirre examines the faces of power in Goyaesque grandiosity. Both artists effectively layer the double meanings of chance and intention of “El Fin.”

Christoph Draeger’s work has been featured in many solo exhibitions, including shows at The Kitchen, the Paço das Artes São Paulo, and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as in group exhibitions at P.S.1, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and at KunstWerke, Berlin, among other venues. He is a regular participant in international festivals and biennials in cities such as KwangJu, Havana, Valencia, Turin, and Liverpool, among others. The Centre Pompidou, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Centre pour l’image Contemporaine are among the public collections that house his work. He lives and works in New York.

Miguel Aguirre Vega has been shown internationally, having solo shows in Spain, Switzerland, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. He has participated in the 3rd Mercosur Biennial (Brazil), Bienal de Arte de Valls (Museu de Valls), Popular / Pop (vanguardia, conflicto & modernidad visual) and Tránsito de imágenes (MALI, Museo de Arte de Lima), Boda (MEIAC. Badajoz) among others. He lives and works in Barcelona.