After holding exhibitions at Hat Gallery (Barcelona, May 2021) and Tierra y Tiempo (Madrid, April 2022), and presenting "Nido" within the framework of Electrik by Jordi Bernadó (Barcelona, September 2022), at LAB 36 we have collected the most recent work by the artist that is still representative of her artistic career. “Cuts Don’t Miau” is an invitation to discover a nostalgic world of storytelling, created from the purity of Carmen's spirit.
Working with paper is a sensory act, where the various textures of the elements create a connection between the artist and the material. Carmen Puig-La Calle's collages evoke this connection from a place of emotional refuge and their expressiveness inevitably makes us smile.After all, paper and collaging came to the artist during a time of great uncertainty and sadness: the pandemic. She began to cut and paste as a form of therapy to process her emotions and, without knowing it, these collages lead her to discover the artist within her.
“And suddenly I see myself cutting out images from newspapers and putting together compositions from old catalogs that I kept... That's how I started this new passion.”
- Carmen Puig-La Calle
Carmen started from found papers - old accounting books, vintage magazines, novels, any medium that inspires her and helps her tell these little stories. The compositions offer a variety of textures within the same language that forces you to go through the piece repeatedly, discovering new and surprising elements on each journey.
In each of her works she explores human experience and psychology, sharing a moment of self-reflection but leaving the door open to the public's free interpretation. At the same time, the visual language that Puig-La Calle uses is a clear indication of her years as a public relations, and transmits her intended narrative through recovered images and advertising texts.
Additionally, “Cuts don’t miau” includes a collaboration with Wanda Barcelona - the studio renowned for creating spaces and ephemeral architecture with paper and cardboard - which has exclusively designed the frames that embrace and support each of the works. Following the style that defines Wanda, they are purely paper creations. Specifically, they have chosen a 360 gms Fedrigoni Matérica paper, with small cuts that generate elevations and shadows.
For Carmen, art has always been a collaborative act, both through the found elements she uses in her collages, and with other artists. In “Cuts Don’t Miau” she has sought an illustrator to intervene in some pieces and on the gallery walls. Nacho Sarrió is one of the founders of Fundrawings, the duo that creates improvised art and illustrations. Nacho's contribution brings a surprising element, with his figures made in black and white and with very fine lines.