Projects

The artistic practice of Karin Averkin is a rooted exploration of layers—as geological fact, historical process, and metaphor for identity. Her work posits that we, like the city itself, are constructed from countless strata of experiences, memory, and culture. The subject of her inquiry is the essence that resides beneath: the foundational core that persists through constant transformation.

 

This body of work, conceived during a residency in Mexico City, began as an exercise in sensory translation. An initial photographic immersion into the city's chromatic vibrancy and atmospheric energy gave way to a deeper discovery. Through visits to ancient sites and historical centers, the artist identified a powerful conceptual metaphor: the foundation. The architectural palimpsest of the city, where stones are reused and history seeps through cracks, became the formal and philosophical cornerstone of this series.

 

Employing photography, painting, and intricate collage, Karin Averkin constructs canvases of complex stratification. Each added layer—of image, texture, or paint—mirrors the accumulation of time. Yet, her technique is not one of mere concealment. By strategically revealing glimpses of lower strata, she invites the viewer to engage in an act of archaeological looking. The deliberate palette functions as a coded language: the grey of foundational stone, the green of resilient nature reclaiming its space, and the pink of enduring optimism and joy.​

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During the month of May, Studio 6 at Lagos | Estudios y Residencias became the setting for an artistic metamorphosis. Painter Karin Averkin immersed herself in a period of intensive production marked by commitment, perseverance and a profound openness to the unknown. Rather than simply continuing her previous work, the residency became a rigorous catalyst for transformation, leading her to internalize her artistic gesture and advance toward a new level of professional awareness. Through this process, Averkin pushed beyond her own boundaries, reaching greater depth within both her visual and conceptual research.

At the heart of the residency was a transition that was both technical and inward. To develop this new body of work, the artist underwent a multifaceted process of intellectual letting go, which became tangible in the formal and material decisions throughout the exhibition. The central challenge—and revelation—was to move away from creation governed primarily by reasoning and allow a more intuitive force to emerge. By quieting the impulse toward rational control, Averkin allowed intuition and instinct to guide movement across the canvas. The canvas ceased to be a space of strict planning and became instead a territory of event, discovery and revelation.

Within what might be described as an organic flow of time, the artist absorbed the complexity of Mexico City. With its continual accumulation of memories, social textures and everyday archaeologies, the city provided conceptual material for the work. Averkin relocated these layers encountered within the metropolis into her own artistic practice. Rather than appropriating the city's landscapes, she turned toward her own internal layers and landscapes, seeking to perceive and attune her natural rhythm to that of her surroundings.

This dialogue between inner and outer experience generated a need to expand the physical support, resulting in a markedly physical and atmospheric body of work. Larger canvases demanded a more complete bodily engagement and a scale capable of enveloping the viewer.

At the same time, Averkin adopted a less-is-more approach, reducing the saturation of elements characteristic of earlier paintings. This allowed transparency and staining to become more visible. Chromatic layers interact with light, alternately veiling and revealing what lies beneath, functioning as a metaphor for memory. Drips and accumulated strata introduce controlled accidents in which gravity and the fluidity of the material are allowed to act freely, creating a pictorial topography that evokes the passage of time.

The month of introspection and transformation culminated in eight works. These are not merely aesthetic objects, but living records of the emotional and technical stages the artist encountered and moved through. Each layer of paint, each spontaneous drip and each transparent veil bears witness to an artist whose visual language has evolved toward greater awareness of gesture and a sustained dialogue between material and inner experience.

 

olgaMargarita dávila, chief curator, Anáhuac, CDMX - mayo 2026