PRESENT 2: Alma Ruiz presents Diana de Solares

November 1 – December 13, 2014

 

The gallery is pleased to present the second installment of "Present", a new series of guest-curated exhibitions in the project space.

 

Alma Ruiz is senior curator at The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Los Angeles. She has curated numerous exhibitions focusing on the postwar period in Italy and Latin America, as well as on emerging artists. She has been a juror for numerous exhibitions and art biennials in the United States and Latin America. She has served as a panelist for The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans and Creative Capital Foundation in New York, and is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation in Miami, Florida.

 

Diana de Solares's work is intimately allied with the concept of space. The identity and authenticity of her sculptural works thrive when their elements are in a congruent relationship with the space they inhabit. Found objects of varying age, patina, and experience are juxtaposed with smooth-surfaced constructions made of MDF—contrasting elements come together like well-suited prostheses powerfully interacting with their immediate surroundings. In addition to the sculptural works that remain the core of her artistic practice, de Solares makes drawings that are rational and balanced. Revealing her strong preference for geometric forms, Diana de Solares’s drawings also relate to the notions of space present in her tridimensional work.

- Alma Ruiz

 

Born in Guatemala City in 1952, Diana de Solares lives and works in Guatemala City.  Recent exhibitions include: “Las correcciones,” the 9.99 gallery, Guatemala City, Guatemala (2014); “XIX Bienal Paiz,” Arte Centro Graciela Andrade de Paiz, Guatemala City, Guatemala (2014); “Prótesis,” Piegatto Arte, Guatemala City, Guatemala (2013); “En tránsito,” Sol del Río Arte Contemporáneo, Guatemala City, Guatemala (2013); “Ensayo” and “Index Miami,” Edge Zones, Miami, Florida (2005 and 2004 respectively); “En el filo,” Museo de Arte Moderno de Mérida “Juan Astorga Anta,” Merida, Venezuela (2003); “Picturing the Female Body,” The Latin Collector Gallery, New York (2002); and “Diana de Solares y Juan Paparella,” Schneider Gallery, Chicago (2000).