Gabriel Orozco was born in 1962, in Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico and lives today between Tokyo, Mexico City and New York. His work is grounded in a singular take on realism, using everyday objects and images and transforming them through complex forms of games or rigorous structural approaches.
Gabriel Orozco, Solar Rex (2026)
© Gabriel Orozco. Photo © White Cube (Gerardo Landa Rojano)
He has said that everything he does has to do with different forms of transportation, so that his materials become vehicles for thought and action. And the breadth of knowledge and physical expression that he employs mean that his projects are both consistent and disparate, taking the form of drawings and paintings, found objects and handmade sculptures, photography and installation.
This wealth of modes and methods leads to a huge variety in the kinds of work he produces, from small objects to total environments, from subtle and spare gestures to spectacular productions.
Installation view of Gabriel Orozco, Chronotopic at White Cube Bermondsey
© Gabriel Orozco. Photo © White Cube (Eva Herzog)
He discusses his fascination with games and sports, which feature in many of his works, he reflects on the breadth of language in the manifestations of his work, and the role of the audience in completing it. He discusses his early fascination with Pablo Picasso, his enduring passion for the work of Kurt Schwitter and Constantin Brancusi, his admiration of On Kawara and the importance of writers including Jorge Luis Borges and D.T. Suzuki to his work. Plus, he gives insight into life in the studio, and answer our usual questions, including the ultimate: what is art for?
- Gabriel Orozco: Chronotopic, curated by Briony Fer, White Cube Bermondsey, London, until 8 November.
This podcast is sponsored by Bloomberg Connects, the arts and culture platform.
Bloomberg Connects offers access to a vast range of international cultural organisations through a single click, with new guides being added regularly. They include several organisations in which Gabriel Orozco has had solo exhibitions, including the Aspen Art Museum, in Colorado in the US, MOT Tokyo, Serpentine in London and Fruitmarket in Edinburgh. On the Fruitmarket guide you can explore their recent exhibition dedicated to a former guest on this podcast, Eva Rothschild, called The Void Presses The Wall. Audio features guide you through the different spaces of the exhibition, from a sculptural retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s story The Princess and the Pea in the work called The Grit in the Lower Gallery, to a new film, Safe, which follow a group of teenage boys amid the playground that Rothschild designed for the Becontree Estate in East London in 2022. You can also watch a video of Rothschild discussing the exhibition.
