Beyond this Matter

A Solo Exhibition by Tony Vázquez-Figueroa
March 2025

Tony Vázquez-Figueroa has long investigated oil’s significance—not just as a material but as a force shaping history, trades, and the environment. In his recent solo exhibition, Beyond this Matter, the artist pushes further, expanding on oil’s physical and symbolic weight while navigating into new chromatic territory. Color, minimally present in his work of recent years, now emerges through layers of red, ochre, green, turquoise, and indigo, mar king a significant evolution. Yet, at the core of each composition remains the striking black void, a signature element that anchors his ongoing dialogue with oil’s duality as both a resource and a force of destruction.

This shift deepens his past inquiries rather than departing from them. In works from his previous series of Black Mirror Paintings, the artist examined oil as a substance embedded with history and effect. Now, inspired by satellite imagery of oil spills, Vázquez-Figueroa’s compositions trace crude oil’s movement across water, referencing ecological disasters such as Amoco Cádiz, Exxon Valdez, and Delta.

With Beyond this Matter, Vázquez-Figueroa challenges us to see beyond oil’s tangible form and consider its far-reaching consequences. This is not just an archive of environmental crises, but an invitation to reflect on our relationship with nature and industry, and the images that shape our perception of both.