Esperanza Cortés (Colombian, born 1957). La Cordobésa, 2016–17. Found embroidery, glass beads, glass pieces, twentieth-century chair upper, and eighteenth-century chair legs, 42 x 20 x 26 inches (106.7 x 50.8 x 66 cm). Courtesy of the artist. Photograph by Max Yawney.
Comunidades Visibles (Visible Communities): The Materiality of Migration brings together artworks by first- or second-generation immigrant Latinx artists. In their creative practices, these artists celebrate their communities and interrogate the materials and stories that form their foundations. Each combines materials and techniques from their country of origin, from other colonized places, or from their present context with everyday or art historical references. The resulting hybrid practices correspond with the artists’ hybrid identities. Collectively, these objects and installations invite us to question our relationships to our own histories, evaluate the communities to which we belong, and see with new appreciation the value that erased or marginalized groups contribute to our daily lives. By turning personal history into palpable presence, the selected artists transform difficult narratives into celebratory and beautiful objects that convey urgent and consequential narratives about historical and contemporary immigration.
The exhibition is on view from 12 February 2021 - 16 May 2021.
This exhibition is organized by Curatorial Assistant Andrea Alvarez.
Admission to Albright-Knox Northland is always Pay What You Wish.