Symphony of Nothing, LMCC, 2009
graphite, charcoal, dimensions variable
For our inaugural post, PR paid a studio visit to Brooklyn-based artist Esperanza Mayobre, who makes project-based work that explores cultural/social hierarchies and the tragedy/triumph of the human condition with compassion, humor, and grace. She selects the media and materials used on each piece in accordance to the idea that she is working with.
LMCC studio installation
Wall drawing composite
Working on Symphony of Nothing, Galería Fernando Zubillaga, 2010
Symphony of Nothing (detail)
Artist & curator, José Ruiz on Esperanza's work in BOMB, Issue 110 from last year:
"Mayobre's process is similar to a writer's; she undergoes long periods of research in order to mine narratives and draft propositions. A Venezuelan, her instincts are rooted in the traditions of Latin American literature, music, and visual art that have always been—and still are—influenced by the morphing culture, conditional politics, and patriotic leisure that define the entire continent.
Mayobre's art plays with the duality of being bilingual and constantly shifting back and forth between thinking, speaking, and expressing herself in English and Spanish. The double meaning of certain phrases and the obtuseness of certain words mimic her constant, transitional acts of translation."
Monumento a la T.V. (y a Brancusi), Galería Fernando Zubillaga, 2010
hydrocal, concrete block, wood, 47" x 7" x 5"
Monumento a la T.V. (y a Brancusi), detail
Working table w/ laser-cut drawings
Assorted Impossible Machine drawings, clippings, and notes
Mayobre's studio is reminiscent of physically active open sketchbook, where past and current projects inform each other through constant dialogue, playing with casual arrangements of found articles, notes, and drawings mingling with formally framed artworks.
Her choice of materials and presentation is as carefully considered as her writing and conceptual approach to art making. This interweaving of hi and lo-brow materials is the aesthetic thread that connects her various projects, allowing her work to function on an elevated level while occasionally throwing in a curveball of ready-made objects, leaving the viewer to draw even more open-ended conclusions.
La lucha por la locha vs. Another day another dollar, 2009
Museo de Arte, El Salvador
pulpit, book, chalkboard, flag, bucket, mop, water, fan, grass carpet, dimensions variable
La lucha por la locha vs. Another day another dollar, (The Immigration Book. Volume 1.), 2009
mixed media, dimensions variable
Deconstructing Virgin Hope, 2006-07
collage, 8" x 11"
Servicios Migratorios (Immigration Services), 2006-07
mixed media, dimensions variable
Colirio (Cleansing Vision Solution), 2005
mixed media, dimensions variable
Colirio (Cleansing Vision Solution), detail
y dio mucha luz (she gave very much light), 2005
power cord, rubber, light bulbs, dimensions variable
Past exhibitions include shows at Smack Mellon, The Bronx Museum, and she is a recent participant in the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Workspace Residency. Her work has been reviewed in BOMB, The New York Times, and Artforum. Her first solo exhibition in her home country of Venezuela is on view at Galería Fernando Zubillaga until June 14 and she will be participating in Domestic City: Methodology & Intuition, opening Friday, May 21, at Kidd Yellin in Red Hook.
- Vince Contarino, 05.18.10