LINA LEAL: WATER, opening Tuesday, December 8 at NOHRA HAIME GALLERY
WATER, a thought-provoking exhibition by conceptual artist Lina Leal, including a series of intriguing multimedia installations will be on view at the Nohra Haime Gallery from December 9th through 30th. This will mark Leal’s first solo exhibition in New York.
Notions of loss and absence play a major role in Leal’s work. Creating installations fashioned from industrial materials such as metal, nylon, acrylic, lead, resin and lights, Leal presents the viewer with a personally symbolic and meditative art. Her work becomes a dance between the conscious and unconscious. It is about reflections on forgotten memories and loss of connectedness.
The concept of presence and abandonment found expression in her installation Descents, 2009, consisting of an accumulation of nylon threads suspended from a showerhead; a myriad of miniature people cling from the clear nylon strands in a shower of LED light. This work is a metaphor for the many people that constantly walk in and out of our lives, like water, they flow and fade away. Haunted by fears of loneliness and powerlessness, and the threat of losing everything that makes part of her existence, Leal chooses to hold on to her memories. This is evident in Ice Bags, 2009, a triptych consisting of clear plastic bags that hang from the ceiling, filled with objects and “thoughts” trapped inside blocks of ice made of resin. Like ice, these precious possessions and memories can gradually melt and be forever lost.
Through remarkable cleverness and inventiveness, the artist creates a seemingly delicate body of work with a powerful meaning. Her language is serene and profound. Leal invites the viewer to approach her art and to seek the stories of the past and be reminded of what once was, or rather, what still is but has been forgotten.
Born in Bogota, Leal has exhibited in numerous international art fairs, including Pinta, NY, 2009; Art Chicago; 2009; Feria de Arte de Caracas, Venezuela, 2009; Artbo, Bogota, 2006, among others. She currently lives and works in Colombia.
DATES: December 9-30, 2009
RECEPTION FOR THE ARTIST: Tuesday, December 8 from 6 to 8 p.m.
BREAKFAST WITH THE ARTIST: Saturday, December 12 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. R.S.V.P. required 212-888-3550.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ana Maria de la Ossa at 212-888-3550
