Corkin Gallery is pleased to present Prayers, an exhibition of paintings by Chilean artist Rafael Yaluff. Tracking Yaluff’s journey through psychological and physical spaces, Prayers explores the artist’s state of mind as he confronts the crisis of his country in the midst of globalization.

Yaluff made expeditions to Patagonia in the glacier fiords of southern Chile. Here, the artist built temporary ateliers in the pristine forest. In search of meaning, Yaluff was immersed in nature, while he painted against the harsh elements. As the weeks advanced, moss and fungi started to grow on his canvases, as if the landscape was trying to swallow them. Developed over five years through multiple expeditions, the resulting paintings are a testimony to the experience of the raw natural landscape.

After Yaluff left isolation he began tracing a path towards the colorful decadence of the city, first Toronto and then Porto. Made at a distance from Chile the most recent works were developed in Portugal and became a mystical representation of the Latin American city of Santiago. Yaluff’s practice reflects his journey in search of identity and the discovery of his spirit. Coincidently the paintings become evocative representations of the complex socio-political climate of Chile today.

Rafael Yaluff was born in Santiago, Chile in 1983, he graduated from Visual Arts at PUC Chile, 2006 and studied Philosophy at UAH Chile, 2010. He has exhibited his work in Santiago, Berlin, Copenhagen, Milan, Lisbon, Porto and Toronto.