This Saturday, May 23, at 5 p.m., Matices Art Gallery (Cruz del Defensor 241, Asunción) opens its doors for La memoria de los árboles, a new solo exhibition by Félix Toranzos. The opening is part of the 12th edition of Noche de Galerías, an event organized by the Association of Art Galleries of Paraguay (ASGAPA), which simultaneously brings together twenty art spaces in the capital. Admission is free.
Curated by critic and researcher Albán Martínez Gueyraud, the show moves away from purely landscape or costumbrist readings. In the curatorial text, Martínez Gueyraud states that in Toranzos's cosmogony, “the tree transcends its botanical condition to stand as a fundamental device of memory.” The exhibition unfolds as a visual essay on interconnectedness and the essence of life.
The curator highlights that Toranzos “subtly shifts our gaze from the crown — that which is evident and ornamental — to direct it to the eloquence of branches, stems, trunk, and root.” Through stylized silhouettes, the artist emphasizes that survival, both of the natural ecosystem and of historical memory, lies in what usually remains invisible to the superficial eye.
The series challenges nature's role in the face of uprooting and social disconnection. The curatorial text warns that “Toranzos's proposal warns us that trees are the invisible pillars of our existence. Just as they regulate vital cycles and purify the air, this work seeks to purify our gaze, forcing us to recognize ourselves as part of the same fabric.”
The exhibition runs through Tuesday, June 23, with a special guided tour on Saturday, June 13, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Noche de Galerías, declared of Cultural and Tourist Interest, provides a free bus system between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. on opening day, with specialized guides and monitors trained at local art institutions.