ASOCIAL TENDENCIES

Like eternal teenagers locked in their own cosmos, surrounded by posters and photographs that express their desires, impulses, anxieties, and most hidden fears, Maite and Manuel open the doors of their room and invite us to immerse ourselves in their imperfect yet honest world. A place full of contradictions, fears, and hopes—imbued with a nostalgic gaze that draws us into their refuge and intimacy. Moving among creatures that embody duality itself, as if they were totemic elements, the artists show us how they confront their emotions through everyday life, shielding themselves from external elements that could interfere with their processes.

Maite García Argul (1996) and Manuel Puig (1991) are a duo of painters born in Uruguay and currently based in Mallorca, both with a background in design. In 2019, they founded Gabinete Exquisito, a character design studio in Barcelona. Oscillating between figuration and abstract expressionism, they describe their pictorial work as “an aggressive but innocent struggle, similar to free jazz.”

With anxious gestures and a certain sense of urgency, they are drawn to the exploration of dualities: accident vs. intention, abstraction vs. figuration, chaos vs. order, darkness vs. clarity, Maite vs. Manuel.