双方藝廊榮幸宣布將於 2025 年 5 月 31 日至 7 月 12 日展出西班牙藝術家胡安．薩摩拉（Juan Zamora）的最新個展「突觸」。這是藝術家與双方藝廊的三度合作，本次展覽他將以一場深刻的生命經驗為起點，透過一系列啟發自近期手術經歷的繪畫與裝置作品，引領觀者重新審視人與自然間的連結。薩摩拉將其對自然的長期關注，融入詩意與哲學的思索，試圖在觀者與自然之間建立嶄新的情感共鳴。展名「突觸」，原文Synapse源自古希臘文，意為「連接詞」。這個詞最初由神經學家提出，描述神經元之間連接的機制，西班牙神經學家桑地牙哥．拉蒙卡哈（Santiago Ramón y Cajal）曾將此交會過程浪漫地形容為「原生質之吻」，宛如一場「構成史詩愛情故事的最終狂喜」，作為本次展覽概念的回應與揭露。

2024 年的一次緊急手術中，取出了薩摩拉移位的椎間盤。麻醉期間，藝術家夢見自己穿梭於一片竹林，或說是竹林穿透了他的身體。這段奇異的夢境啟發了作品《穿越竹林》。藝術家將醫療報告與帳單作為畫布，將人體內部組織與翠綠竹竿交織，竹子的旺盛生機，呼應著人體神經發展初期，突觸四處延伸尋覓接點的狀態。在《笛子Ｉ》中，薩摩拉更提取椎間盤的細胞，與竹纖維結合，創造出可實際吹奏的笛子。這次手術的經驗，也讓他對於「空缺」有了更敏銳的觀察。

藝術家將對「空缺」的觀察轉化與再現在作品之中：昆蟲啃食的葉洞，透過音樂盒得以發聲；以及捕捉歐亞野外滅絕植物最後身影的紙上作品。這些「空缺之物」在薩摩拉的關注之下，不再是純然的不在場，而是成蛹等待羽化，乍看之下彷彿空缺，但那只是為了變態過程而必須有的，暫時的不可見。

薩摩拉將手術房的時光視為自己「在蛹中變形的過程」，術後的他感覺自己彷彿蝴蝶，不再受限於時間空間，自由地穿梭於夢境中的竹林和現世。這呼應了拉蒙卡哈的筆記：「如同追尋色彩鮮豔的蝴蝶的昆蟲學家，我被大腦灰質的花園吸引，那裡有著形態精緻且優雅的細胞，還有神秘的靈魂的蝴蝶，蝴蝶們的振翅或許有朝一日（誰知道呢？）能闡明精神世界秘密。」在本次展覽中，藝術家透過創作振動了他手術後新獲的翅膀，攪亂了夢境、意識和現世，帶領觀眾一同穿梭其中，探索超越時間空間的自由，並感受那份對生命與自然的深刻連結與熱愛。期待在觀者和自然之間建立超越理性的情感連結，達到如同「原生質之吻」般的狂喜，相連彼此的「突觸」。

胡安．薩摩拉，出生於西班牙，是一位跨領域藝術家，其創作涵蓋繪畫、雕塑、裝置等多種媒介。他的作品以科學研究為基礎，融入詩意和哲學的思考，探索生命、自然和人類經驗等主題。曾於2017年榮獲西班牙國家赫羅納公主獎(Princess of Girona Foundation National Award)，獲邀至紐約、約翰尼斯堡、阿姆斯特丹及威尼斯等地駐村創作，展覽遍及西班牙、德國、葡萄牙、美國、中國、哥倫比亞、義大利、奈及利亞、墨西哥、加拿大、希臘等國家。


Double Square Gallery is pleased to present Spanish artist Juan Zamora’s upcoming solo exhibition, Synapse, from May 31 to July 12, 2025. This will be the third collaboration between the artist and the gallery. Centered around a significant life experience, this exhibition showcases a collection of paintings and installations stemming from Zamora’s recent surgery, inviting viewers to reconsider the relationship between humanity and nature. Zamora blends his long-term interest in nature with poetic and philosophical contemplation, forging new emotional resonances between the audience and the natural world. The title, “Synapse,” is derived from the Greek word for “connector.” The term was first introduced by neurologists to describe how neurons link together. The Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal beautifully describes this synaptic connection as “protoplasmic kisses,” comparing it to “the final ecstasy of an epic love story”—a statement that perfectly echoes and captures the exhibitions concept.

During an emergency surgery in 2024, Zamora had a displaced intervertebral disc removed. While under anesthesia, he dreamt of traversing a bamboo forest—or maybe it was the bamboo forest passing through him. This unique dream inspired Crossing the Bamboo. The artist uses medical reports and invoices as canvases, merging images of human body tissues with lush bamboo stalks. The vibrant life of the bamboo reflects the early phase of neural development, with synapses reaching out to build connections. In Flute I, Zamora combines cells extracted from his intervertebral disc, merging them with bamboo fibers to craft a functional, playable flute. This surgical experience also heightened his awareness of the notion of “absence.”

The artist transforms and represents his observations of “absence” in his works: leaves with holes created by are embodied as a music box, and paperworks capturing the last images of Extinct in the wild plants from Eurasia. Through Zamora’s careful attention, these “absent things” transform from mere absence into pupae waiting to hatch, seemingly missing at first glance. In fact, such absence is simply a transitional invisibility essential for metamorphosis.

Zamora perceives his time in the operating room as “a transformative pupal phase.” After surgery, he felt like a butterfly, liberated from temporal and spatial constraints, free to move between the bamboo groves in his dream and the real world. This idea echoes the notes of Ramón y Cajal: “Like the entomologist hunting for brightly coloured butterflies, my attention was drawn to the flower garden of the grey matter, which contained cells with delicate and elegant forms, the mysterious butterflies of the soul, the beating of whose wings may some day (who knows?) clarify the secret of mental life.” Through this exhibition, the artist sets his newly acquired wings in motion through his creative endeavors, blurring the boundaries between dreams, consciousness, and reality. He invites the audience to travel with him through these realms, exploring a freedom that transcends time and space while experiencing a profound sense of connection and reverence for life and nature. Synapse aims to ignite an emotional bond between viewers and nature that goes beyond reason, an ecstasy comparable to the “protoplasmic kisses” and the interconnected “synapses.”

Juan Zamora, a Spanish-born interdisciplinary artist, engages in painting, sculpture, installation, and various other media. His work builds on the foundation of scientific research, merging poetic and philosophical contemplation to explore themes related to life, nature, and the human experience. He received the Princess of Girona Foundation National Award in Spain in 2017 and was invited for residencies in New York, Johannesburg, Amsterdam, and Venice. Zamora has exhibited in numerous countries, including Spain, Germany, Portugal, the United States, China, Colombia, Italy, Nigeria, Mexico, Canada, Greece, and more.