Curator Ana Perez Escosto premiered her latest project “A False Horizon: Art From Latin America” on Thursday night at Gallery 151. “A False Horizon: Art From Latin America,” a group exhibition under Peana Projects, aims to advance the social and cultural awareness of Latin American and Spanish contemporary art. Participating artists included Karian Amaya, Silvina Arismendi, Adrian S. Bará, Aldo Chaparro, Alberto López, Mario Navarro, Saúl Sánchez, Pier Stockholm, Vargas-Suarez Universal, and Alexis Zambrano.
“Artists used modular forms and structures, or carefully conjoined simple planes and lines, in an effort to promote a utopian, democratic society,” said art advisor Escosto. “At first glance a lot of this pieces look simple, yet the thought process that led to the end product is a lot more complex than one might think.” Her Mexican heritage and the country’s present socio-political stance inspired the exhibition name and some of the pieces. “I like simplicity but with touches of brightness,” said Escosto. “Bright colors which are very characteristic of Mexico, my country of origin.” The white walled gallery was comprised of sculptures, drawings, and mixed-media prints. Uruguay artist Silvina Arismendi created a mixed media print of women in sports. Against the wall of the prints lied a gold, green and white color blocked spear. “I tried to use them in different context, reacting to different spaces and composing the drawing and painting and sculptures in this space,” said Arismendi.
In 2000, Arismendi received a scholarship to Academy of Fine Arts Prague in Czech Republic. Upon graduating in 2007, she founded galleria parasite/, an association which creates networking opportunities for galleries and institutions in Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe. For Escosto, choosing the perfect artists for the project proved to be the most challenging task. “It is sometimes hard to say no to certain artworks or artists,” said Escosto. “But I think that is the most important part of my job. The artworks I display define me and my work as much as those that I decide not to include in an exhibition.”
The exhibition will display in Gallery 151 until Sep. 3.
By Jada Vanderpool
Courtesy of Jada Vanderpool
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Courtesy of Peana Project
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Courtesy of Jada Vanderpool