Wizard Gallery is pleased to present the solo exhibition of Eliel David Pérez Martínez Huir del destino, curated by Daniele Capra. The exhibition brings together a dozen works by the young Mexican artist, on canvas and of an installation nature, which stem from a reflection on all those who are forced to flee the context in which they have lived in search of freedom, work or a decent living condition. Women and men on the run, in a manner similar to a prey that, under the eyes of the hunter, desperately tries to escape a fate that appears marked.

Huir del destino ("escaping fate") tells of the many experiences, sometimes heard firsthand by the artist, of people from Central America who try to cross the Mexican desert to immigrate illegally to the United States, relying on simply walking and the operational support of experienced guides who know their way around that impassable environment. These men who help the illegal immigrants are habitually called coyotes because, exactly like such an animal, they must be phenomenal walkers capable of withstanding the most extreme situations, deadly heat, hunger, thirst and fatigue. The coyote-which also plays an important role in the Mesoamerican mythologies dear to the artist-is thus a metaphor for the ferryman who leads to a better future and an emblem of those who never give themselves up for defeat, managing to escape, thanks to their strength of will and their own ability to endure, from a story that is at first glance already written.

The works in the _Durmiendo con coyotes _series originate as a narrative, minimal and dry, built on the abandoned objects of migrants crossing the desert. They are simple garbage, plastic bottles, blankets and forgotten clothing, traces of a presence and a quick passage that Pérez Martínez outlines with an essential language, with liquid, intense colors and a sparse but vivid figuration. In his canvases elements of Mexican folk tradition, geometric patterns, bad painting and narrative rigor mix freely, in a sunny, Latin cocktail, at times almost lysergic. From time to time coyotes, birds, a fox appear on the canvas, silent witnesses to the path of the many illegal immigrants fleeing their condition and, at the same time, symbols of a life that, despite a thousand endless adversities, never stops continuing.

The practice of Eliel David Pérez Martínez (Oaxaca, Mexico, 1998) is based on the use of the medium of painting and fabric, which are employed both in two-dimensional form and in sculptural mode. Her works are characterized by bright colors and vibrant backgrounds, frequently animated by fluid forms and geometric patterns. The recurring themes of his research have to do with his own personal experience, the cultural experiences of Mexico, and social criticism, originating from the analysis of cultural, anthropological and economic factors. Pérez Martínez graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Oaxaca and then Venice, and was among the artists in residence at the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venice. His solo exhibitions have been hosted by Suburbia Contemporary Gallery, Barcelona, and Ethra Gallery, Mexico City. He lives and works in Venice.