Intercontainers

The sculptural practice of Javier Carro Temboury often begins with a chance encounter. Strolling through flea markets, he collects used objects, sampling the material diversity of our societies. In a second stage, in his studio, he irreversibly transforms these materials, mainly by cutting them, according to a predefined framework. The tension between these familiar objects and their surgical dissection gives him the potential to playfully propose eclectic assemblages. Each object contrasts with the next one, and through their juxtaposition, a clash of connotations emerges. Fascinated by a technology developed across countless societies—Javier Carro Temboury primarily collects ceramics. He takes on the role of an anthropologist, setting aside his personal aesthetic preferences to sample the broader landscape of these objects: embracing a variety of tastes, techniques and functions. The installation Intercontainers (2022) explores the infinity of forms of ceramic containers. The floor piece spans 10 meters, displaying utilitarian ware arranged along a linear axis. Each item has been altered with an identical cut pattern: once split in two, the objects lose their original function but interlock with neighboring halves. Despite the diversity of visual languages and cultural connotations along the piece, a common thread emerges—the universal need to contain. Social interaction is at the core of the Café Transversal project. The sculptures serve as documentation of a collective meeting that took place on-site weeks before the exhibition. During a one-day gathering, the public is invited for coffee. Once the guests depart, the used tableware is preserved exactly as they left it. By pouring liquid concrete over the scene, the artist fossilizes the arrangement, capturing the cups, their stains, and the conversations they held. The latest pieces in this series, Café Transversal V (2025), created in Madrid for Centro de Arte de Alcobendas, mark a new direction: the sculptures now stand upright, rising vertically. Several stacks of cups and plates resemble spinal columns. The analogy with anatomy offers a lens through which the entire exhibition can be viewed. Without explicitly depicting the human body, Temboury’s work evokes it through tools (cups, vessels…) that have served as temporary extensions of the hand for specific tasks such as drinking and containing. These artifacts now interlock, forming a more complex system. From this interplay between instrument and body, the body ultimately prevails as "man's first and most natural instrument” (Marcel Mauss, 1936). If Temboury were to represent an ideal anatomy, it would be a syncretic one—composed of biological and social contradictions, made up of fragments of others in an inevitable interdependence. "Intercontainers" marks Javier Carro Temboury’s (Madrid, 1997) first personal exhibition in an institution in Spain. His project Café Transversal has been shown at the Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain MAMC+, Saint-Étienne; Pech, Vienna; Palais d'Iéna, Paris, and Villa Belleville, Paris. He has recently exhibited at Galeria Campeche, Mexico City; Centre Céramique Contemporaine de La Borne; Arniches 26, Madrid; Romero Paprocki, Paris. He currently lives and works in Paris.