FRANCIS AND ANTHONY ALMENDÁREZ
ARE AWARDED A 2020 YES ARTIST GRANT FOR A WORKSHOP AND VIDEO EXHIBITION PROJECT
Image: Installation view of Rhythm and (p)leisure at Artpace, San Antonio, TX in 2019.
Photos by Seale Photography Studios. Courtesy the artists.
Houston-based Salvadoran artists Francis and Anthony Almendárez have been awarded a YES Contemporary Artist Grant to lead a workshop and screening at Cantón San Cristobal neighborhood (Ciudad Barrios, San Miguel, ES) in 2021.
This follows their 2019 project “Rhythm and (p)leisure”, produced as part of an Artpace Residency. For this project they traveled to this neighborhood to research the complexities of work and labor in Central America. During the workshop, they will work with the local community, leading the participants to create their own videos and present them in a public screening on the final day.
WELCOME TO INTIPUCA CITY TEAM IS AWARDED A 2020 YES ARTIST GRANT FOR AN EXHIBITION PROJECT AT CASA DE LA CULTURA DE INTIPUCÁ
Image: Photograph by Welcome to Intipucá. At Hugo Salinas and his uncle Alcides Andrade’s house. The Statue of Liberty has been brought from the U.S. to El Salvador, Intipucá. September, 2017. Courtesy Welcome to Intipucá City Team.
Koral Carballo, Anita Pouchard Serra and Jessica Ávalos, members of Welcome to Intipucá City Team, have been awarded a YES Grant for an exhibition project and installation to take place at Casa de la cultura de Intipucá during the traditional festivities of the town in March 2021.
Welcome to Intipucá City is a collective transmedia project that addresses Salvadoran migration to the USA, considering the case of Intipucá, and the Salvadoran community from Intipucá living in Washington D.C.
YES ART LOAN PROGRAM BORDERS OF FREEDOM
TRAVELS TO
LOS ANGELES CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS (LACE) October 10 to November 22, 2020
Image: Crack Rodríguez, "Trinidad". Courtesy the artist.
The YES Art Loan Program exhibition Borders of Freedom curated by Patricio Majano will be exhibited at the renowned non-profit Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE). Founded in 1978 by a core group of committed artists, LACE is an internationally recognized pioneer, among art institutions. The exhibition and programming is being organized by LACE curator Daniela Lieja.
Interested to learn more about the YES Contemporary Art Loan Program? Click here.
Y.ES ONLINE STUDIO VISITS
Antonio Romero and Maria Chiara Wang
Antonio Romero spoke with Italian art critic and curator Maria Chiara Wang. They discussed possible collaboration for exhibition projects both in Italy and El Salvador.
Antonio Romero’s artwork addresses identity and society through painting and installations. Recent solo exhibitions include Selfie at the Museum of Anthropology in San Salvador, No pasó nada at the Mexican Embassy in El Salvador, and Navarone, at the Museum of Art in El Salvador. As a curator, he has developed several projects at the Museum of Art of El Salvador, the Cultural Center of Spain in El Salvador, and Luis Poma Theater.
Maria Chiara Wang lives and works in Bologna. She regularly writes for art journals and works for independent exhibition spaces, galleries and institutions, in Italy and abroad. Recent curatorial projects include Curatio Vulneris at Castelnuovo Rangone Arte Contemporanea (MO), Trasformazione co-curated with Oscarito Sanchez at Faro Arte (Marina di Ravenna - RA), I Grandi Liberi at Hinterland Galerie (Wien - AT). Recent critical texts include Breaking Boundaries catalog featuring works by Teresa Margolles.
See more of Antonio Romero here.
See more of Maria Chiara Wang here.
THIS HAPPENED
Y.ES ART WRITERS FEATURES PUBLISHED BY ARTE AL DÍA
Image: Simón Vega, "Tropical Space Hostal", 2019. Installation. Courtesy the artist.
YES Contemporary’s commissioned texts by Dalia Chévez, Eduardo Crespín and Jaime Izaguirre were published by Arte Al Día Magazine.
These articles were the result of the 2019 Y.ES Artist Academy, led by Gabriela Poma and dedicated to arts writing. The 2019 Y.ES Contemporary Artist Academy aimed to contribute to the critical dialogue surrounding contemporary Salvadoran art.
Los Angeles-based Salvadoran artist Beatriz Cortez will be participating in Frieze Sculpture 2020 at Rockefeller Center, New York. Cortez won the Inaugural Frieze Arto LIFEWTR® Sculpture Prize and was commissioned to create a large sculpture for the exhibition. Her work “Glacial Erratic” is inspired by rocks that were brought to New York City by melting glaciers, referencing migration before the human era. The show will take place from September 1 – October 2, 2020.
See more about Frieze Sculpture 2020 here.
See more about Beatriz here.
MAURICIO ESQUIVEL PARTICIPATES IN ONLINE TALK
New York-based Salvadoran artist Mauricio Esquivel participated in a talk hosted by El Lobi on August 8. During the event, the curator of the exhibition “en_registro_”, Vanessa Hernández Gracia, spoke with Esquivel, and other artists from the exhibition, including César Manzanares, Pável Aguilar, Perla Ramos, and Zaida Goveo. The show presented a selection of video performances by Latin American artists ranging from introspective ritual practices to works inspired by specific social and political contexts.
Image: Mauricio Esquivel, “Reference Lines”, video performance. Courtesy the artist.
BEATRIZ CORTEZ PRESENTS SOLAR STAR
Artist Beatriz Cortez presented Solar Star, a collaboration with Rafa Esparza part of the collective exhibition Solar Field, hosted by Art in Residence Gallery. The exhibition presents works reflecting different aspects of solar farms in the Antelope Valley. Solar Star was a one day activation where the artists spreaded seed pods in the landscape. The piece references the ancient celebrations in honor of the Aztec god of the sun, Huitzilopochtli. The event took place on August 22, 2020 at Antelope Valley, California.
Artist Simón Vega participated in a talk hosted by Liliana Bloch gallery on July 31, 2020. Vega was interviewed by Fernando Alvarez, and shared about his current artistic practice, including his drawings and installations inspired by Central American self-made-architecture and vendor carts.
See more about Simón Vega here.
See more about Liliana Bloch Gallery here.
Image: Simón Vega's interview for the 2018 YES Artist Academy, 2018.
ALEXIA MIRANDA AT PERFORMANCE TALK
Salvadoran artist Alexia Miranda participated in the talk #CentroaméricaEnAcción, hosted by Instituto de México en Costa Rica, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design in Costa Rica, and Perfo-Red MX. The talk took place on August 20 and featured artists Regina José Galindo, Katie Numi, Leonardo Gonzalez, Lucia Madriz, Illimani de los Andes and Donna Conlon in conversation with Arturo Valencia, Pancho López and Antonieta Hidalgo, who discussed performance practice in Central America.
See more of Alexia Miranda here.
Image: Alexia Miranda, “Debajo del agua”. Courtesy the artist.
BEATRIZ CORTEZ PARTICIPATES IN A TALK HOSTED BY MOCA
Beatriz Cortez participated in a talk hosted by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, MOCA. The talk was part of the collaborative project “In Plain Sight”, which protests against the migrant detention centers and incarceration culture in the USA. The event took place on August 13, and featured artists Rafa Esparza and Cassils presenting the project, followed by a panel discussion featuring Beatriz Cortez, Bamby Salcedo, Yosimar Reyes, and Ken Gonzalez-Day.
Watch the panel here.
Image: Beatriz Cortez, “No Cages No Jaulas”. Courtesy the artist.
EL SALVADOR NEWS
HUGO RIVAS AT SIN FRONTERAS TALK SERIES
Artist Hugo Rivas participated in the talk series “Sin Fronteras” on August 2, 2020. Rivas spoke with Panamanian artist Diego Fabrega. During the livestream, Rivas talked about his practice and recent work.
Image: Hugo Rivas, painting from the exhibition "Íntimo". Courtesy the artist.
PRESS
SITIOS REVERSOS FEATURED IN ARTISHOCK
The project Sitios Reversos is featured in Artishock magazine. The article was written by the project’s organizer, Salvadoran artist Kevin Baltazar, and reviews the project since its beginning in 2018, recounting its interventions at San Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, and more.
Read the article here.
Image: Gabriela Novoa, “Como iluminar el vacío de su ausencia”. Courtesy the artist.
RONALD MORÁN FEATURED IN EL HERALDO
Artist Ronald Morán is featured in El Heraldo newspaper, in an article written by Carlos Lanza. The article discusses the recent work of Morán, part of the series “La marca de los días en un confinamiento”, which has been produced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
INTERGALACTIXS: AGAINST ISOLATION FEATURED IN TERREMOTO
Los Angeles based curator Daniela Lieja was interviewed by art historian Claudia Pretelin for Terremoto magazine. In the interview, Lieja talks about Intergalacticxs: against isolation, a research and exhibition project that looks into collaborative art practices within Mexico and Central America that specifically address American migration policies affecting the region. The exhibition will open at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibition in January 2020, and will include works by artists from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and their diasporas.
Read the article here.
Image: Beatriz Cortez, Memorial for Oscar Alberto Martínez Ramirez and His Daughter Valeria (Detail), 2019. Digital print. “The Underworld: Artist Project.” X-TRA Contemporary Art Quarterly 22.2 (2019). Image courtesy of the artist and Commonwealth and Council.
MURIEL HASBUN FEATURED IN WASHINGTON CITY PAPER
Artist Muriel Hasbun is featured in Washington City Paper. The article talks about her 2020 Sondheim Artscape Prize finalist exhibition, which includes works from three different series.
See the online exhibition here.
Read the article here.
EXPO DIVERSA VIRTUAL LA FANZINE LAndrés Paz
August 2020
BY PATRICIO MAJANO
Image: LAndrés Paz, ¡Quiero ponerme un vestido! // Plana 3. Courtesy the artist.
La Fanzine is an editorial project based in Guatemala that addresses relevant themes in relation to LGBTIQ community in Central America. Recently, they launched the first part of their fourth issue, featuring works by 53 visual artists, photographers and writers from the region. This issue is accompanied by a virtual exhibition made in collaboration with the The Training Center of the Spanish Cooperation in Antigua Guatemala. The exhibition will be available for viewing during August 2020.
One of the featured artworks is part of the series COPULATIVO: ser, estar y parecer (COPULATIVE: to be, to exist, to appear) from Salvadoran artist LAndrés Paz, who focuses in LGBTIQ children in El Salvador to address themes related to identity, sexuality, gender roles, education and family. This body of work derives from the artist’s own experience with their family and the education system.
Image: LAndrés Paz, Deberes // Plana 1. Courtesy the artist.
Like a drawing, Paz writes repeatedly some phrases, alluding to the school punishment that consist in writing the same line over and over. They utilize their left hand, subverting the obsolete costume of teaching left handed children to write with their right hand, which was considered the “right way” of writing. By doing this, Paz creates a link with heteronormativity, which is imposed from an early age by families and schools, and references how behaviors that differ from this are punished and modified. At the same time, the artist positions themselves outside this norm, whether by presenting themselves as a boy who wants to kiss other boys and wear a dress, or by writing with the “wrong hand”.
This series highlights some of the discriminatory situations that the LGBTQI community endures from an early age, which produce harmful consequences such as higher rates of bullying, mental and physical health issues, among others (Otoya, 2009, p. 43). The value of Paz’ artwork lays in making visible the necessity of questioning and dismantle notions of “normality” that dominate the education system and family as an institution.
Image: LAndrés Paz. Te quiero Abuela (detail). Courtesy the artist.
References: Gonzales Otoya, B. D. (2019). Educación LGB+. El derecho fundamental a educación básica contra la discriminación por orientación sexual. IUS ET VERITAS, (59), 28-55. Retrived from http://revistas.pucp.edu.pe/index.php/iusetveritas/article/view/22472
View “Expo Diversa" here.
See more of LAndrés Paz here.
